Stocks in Japan and South Korea ended the last trading day of the year on Tuesday by notching up annual falls of more than 40 per cent, their worst yearly result since records began.

The Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo recorded a 42.1 per cent fall, well above its last biggest annual loss of 38.7 per cent in 1990, while Korea’s Kospi index ended the year with a loss of 40.7 per cent.