Asian stocks extend the drop, China services PMI weighs

The Asian equities dropped for the second day in a row this Wednesday, with the decline led by the Japanese stocks, after the yen rallied to three-week highs on disappointment over PM Shinzo Abe’s stimulus measures.

While deterioration in the Chinese services sector activity report also weighed somewhat on the investors’ sentiment. However, losses remain capped amid higher oil prices, which offered some respite to the energy and resource sector stocks.

Meanwhile, the Japanese benchmark index, the Nikkei 225 drops -0.86% to 16,250. The Australian markets also follow suit, with the S&P/ASX 200 sliding -0.84% to 5,495 points.

The Chinese equities erased losses and turned modestly higher, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite index +0.23% higher around 2,980; the CSI300 index gains +0.20%. While Hong Kong markets sink -1.62% to 21,765 levels.