Asian shares fell in cautious trading on Wednesday. with Tokyo's Nikkei 225 down nearly 3%, after stocks on Wall Street sank to a new low for the year, the Associated Press reported. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 dropped 2.9% to 27,439.95, its lowest level since August. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 1.0% to 7,332.50. South Korea's Kospi dropped 0.8% to 2,842.28. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.2% to 24,064.48, while the Shanghai Composite lost 0.3% to 3,559.00. In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude added $1.10 to $86.53 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the international standard, rose $1.00 to $88.51 a barrel. In currency trading, the U.S. dollar fell to 114.30 Japanese yen from 114.61 yen. The euro inched up to $1.1329 from $1.1327.