Asian stocks suffered heavy losses on Thursday amid fresh signs of a contraction in China�s economy and following the Federal Reserve�s decision to continue reducing its stimulus.
The final China HSBC purchasing manager�s index (PMI) fell to a new six-month low of 49.5 in January, from last week�s preliminary estimate of 49.6, confirming expectations of a slowdown in the world�s second largest economy.
China�s Shanghai Composite shed 0.36 percent or 7.41 points at 2,042.50 and Hong Kong�s Hang Seng declined 1.46 percent or 324.16 points at 21,817.45. Japan�s Nikkei tumbled 3.18 percent or 488.68 points at 14,895.23 and Singapore�s Straits Times fell 1.11 percent or 33.81 points at 3,014.12. Seoul Composite and Taiwan Weighted shut today.