Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Why has China devalued the yuan?

Asian shares fell again as China's central bank guided the value of the yuan down against the dollar for a second consecutive day.

The People's Bank of China fixed the daily midpoint for the currency down 1.6% to 6.3306 against the dollar.

The Shanghai Composite share index closed down 1.1% at 3,886.32 while markets in the rest of the region fell even more sharply.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index ended 2.4% lower at 23,916.02.

China's central bank tried to calm market concerns on Wednesday, saying that there was no basis for a sustained depreciation of the yuan given global and domestic economic conditions.

Overnight, US stocks had fallen sharply in reaction to Beijing's surprise decision, leading to a negative start to morning trading across Asia.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index, closed down 1.6% at 20,392.77.

South Korea's benchmark Kospi index ended the day down 0.6% at 1,975.47.

However, Korean carmakers bucked the downward trend. Strong sales figures for Kia and Hyundai helped shares in both of their companies rose by more than 5%.

Also, feeling the aftershocks of China's surprise move, the Australian S&P/ASX 200 index finished 1.7% lower at 5,382.10.

Shares in the country's biggest bank, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, were halted from trading as the lender announced a A$5bn capital-raising in order to meet stricter regulatory requirements.