In Australia the market fell sharply at the opening but recovered in late trading to cut the day’s losses to less than half a per cent.
But shares were down for a fourth consecutive session.
The ASX200 index finished down 18.4 points, or 0.4% per cent, at 4626.4, after falling as low as 4564.1, the biggest fall since August 11.
The All Ordinaries index fell 24.7 points or half a per cent to 4710.1.
Most sectors were in the red, with gold dropping 1.4% and financials losing 0.6%. Materials closed just 0.3% lower after earlier falling as much as 2%.
Gunns shares fell 10% (after being down 14% at one stage) after Japanese paper companies (which buy its woodchips) closed some of their plants in the wake of the quake.
Gunns shares ended down 12.5c at 49c, a fall of 7c on the day.
Earlier in the day more than a billion dollars was cut from the value of Australian uranium miner stocks in the wake of Japan’s nuclear crisis.
Paladin Energy shares finished down 16.5% at $3.95, a loss of 78c after the second explosion at a Fukushima reactor yesterday.
The Rio Tinto-controlled Energy Resources Australia, already under pressure from falling production and sales, took a hit and closed down 12.2% at the close at $8.25.
That was a loss of $1.15 and during trading it hit a 52 week low of $8.04.
The damage was even more severe for junior explorers, with companies like Peninsula Energy, Energia Minerals and UEQ taking hits of more than 20% at one stage.
Japan consumes just over 10% of the world’s uranium each year.
Major miners, Rio Tinto and BHP have exposure to uranium through ERA and Olympic Dam respectively but were not sold off. BHP finished down a touch, Rio ended slightly higher.
