Asian stocks fell and measures of equity volatility surged amid escalating geopolitical tension over Ukraine and after an official gauge of Chinese manufacturing dropped to an eight-month low.

Nikkei 225 14,652.23 -188.84 -1.27%

S&P/ASX 200 5,384.33 -20.49 -0.38%

Shanghai Composite 2,075.23 +18.93 +0.92%

Rio Tinto Ltd., the world’s second-largest mining firm, lost 1.6 percent in Sydney with raw-materials shares among the largest decliners of the regional index’s 10 industry groups.

Mazda Motor Corp., an automaker that gets 73 percent of sales overseas, tumbled 3.5 percent in Tokyo as the yen touched an almost one-month high against the dollar.

China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose for a fourth day amid speculation lawmakers will announce measures to reform state-owned companies during an annual meeting this week.