Asian stocks drop amid oil sell-off, Japan stays off

The Asian stocks outside Japan extended losses and moved-off yearly highs this Thursday, ongoing weakness in the oil prices weighed heavily on the commodities shares. Further, negative close on the Wall Street overnight also added to the downbeat sentiment around the region’s indices.

The Australian markets lead the decline in the Asian stocks, while the Chinese indices attempt recovery and flip to gains ahead of a fresh batch of China’s economic releases due tomorrow. While markets continue to digest the RBNZ rate cut decision, which was widely expected.

Japanese markets remain closed Thursday for the Mountain Day public holiday.

The Australian S&P/ASX 200 index drops -0.97% to 5,490, while the Chinese equities recover ground, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite index up +0.09% above 3k mark; the CSI300 index rises +0.40%. While Hong Kong markets gain +0.17% to 22,530 levels.