Asian equity benchmarks are trading down in the early deals on Wednesday, tracking the weak lead from Wall Street and the fall in crude oil prices after a deal to curb global supplies failed to materialize. Chinese stocks opened lower following overnight losses in global markets on lacklustre European and US economic data. Meanwhile, Japan's Nikkei share average stumbled to a one-week low, hit by a renewed drop in oil prices while a stronger yen dragged down exporters.
Nikkei 225 slipped 206.64 points or 1.29% to 15,845.41, Hang Seng dropped 311.08 points or 1.60% to 19,103.70, KOSPI Index declined 0.35 points or 0.02% to 1,913.87, Taiwan Weighted dipped 64.09 points or 0.77% to 8,270.55, Straits Times decreased 48.44 points or 1.81% to 2,623.63, Shanghai Composite crumbled 6.08 points or 0.21% to 2,897.25, Jakarta Composite contracted 14.84 points or 0.32% to 4,639.21, and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI was down by 9.55 points or 0.57% to 1,667.73.