Asian shares slip after Wall Street logs its worst day in 3 weeks

Shares fell Monday in Asia and the price of bitcoin sank as traders braced for an interest rate hike by the Bank of Japan, expected later in the week. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index shed 1.3% to 50,168.11 after a quarterly “tankan” survey of big manufacturers by the central bank showed a slight improvement in sentiment among such businesses. The measure of those expressing optimism rose to 15 from 14 in the last quarter, the highest level in four years, the central bank said.