Asian stocks drop, but on track for 2nd weekly advance

Asian stocks dropped to the lowest levels in a month as yesterday’s disappointing ECB’s decision, raised uncertainty over the prospects of an increase in asset purchases and weighed on investors’ sentiment.

Moreover, the Asian equities tracked its Wall Street counterpart, with the rally in oil prices helping limit losses in the region’s indices. While disappointing inflation figures from China also added to the poor sentiment persisting in the markets.

The Japanese benchmark index, the Nikkei 225 drops -0.19% to 16,926. The Australian S&P/ASX 200 decline -0.75% to 5,3456 points.

The Chinese equities trade with moderate gains; with the benchmark Shanghai Composite index trading -0.20% lower, the CSI300 index drops -0.30%. While Hong Kong markets advance +0.65% to 0.15% to 24,070 points.