Stocks in the Asia-Pacific traded lower on Thursday triggered by the negative sentiment that came out of the US markets where investors digested the disappointing US jobs report and Fitch Ratings' decision to downgrade the United States' credit rating.
On the data front, however, Japan and China released their PMI figures that signaled an expansion in both of the countries' service sector activity.
At 5:07 am CET, South Korea's Kospi Composite decreased by 0.83%, as Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell by 0.63%. The dollar went 0.02% down against the yen to go for ¥143.3080 at 5:08 am CET and the Australian S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.54% at the same time. In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite decreased by 0.30% at 5:09 am CET, with the Shenzhen Composite down by 0.28% a minute later. Japan's Nikkei 225 traded 1.42% lower at 4:35 am CET.
