Major stock equities across the Asia-Pacific region traded lower on Wednesday following Wall Street losses, sparking fresh uncertainty about the possibility of a recession. At the same time, data from Japan showed slower-than-expected service sector expansion and China's services activity shrank, exacerbating investor fears about economic prospects.
Japan's Nikkei 225 plummeted 3.46% at 4:06 am CET. South Korea's Kospi declined 2.31% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng slumped 1.63%. The Shanghai Composite lost 0.58% a minute later and the Shenzen Composite was down 0.50%. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 1.72%.
The dollar traded weakened by 0.07% against the yen to sell for 145.37700 at 4:02 am CET.
