Asian Markets Mixed in the opening hours of trading today

Japanese shares plunged on Tuesday as fresh explosions rocked a damaged nuclear plant and triggered a rise in radiation levels, sending investors fleeing from riskier assets such as equities and commodities across Asia.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 stock index [JP;N225 9545.12 -10.14 (-0.11%)] extended its early slump after Prime Minister Naoto Kan said radiation levels at the plant on the northeast coast had risen and urged people within a 30-km (18 mile) radius of the facility to stay indoors.

One report said "minute" levels of radiation had been detected in Tokyo.

So far this week, $720 billion in market value has been wiped off the Tokyo stock exchange's biggest companies in the wake of a massive earthquake and tsunami which hit the country on Friday, triggering the nuclear crisis.

Asian share markets had initially posted modest losses in response to Tokyo's slump, but then turned sharply lower with the benchmark South Korean index [.KS11 2084.70 -4.70 (-0.22%)] falling 3 percent. Australian shares [.AXJO 4892.00 -6.70 (-0.14%)] dropped 2.6 percent and Hong Kong [.HSI 23897.58 -78.79 (-0.33%)] about 4 percent.