Asian markets end mostly lower on Wednesday

Asian equity markets ended mostly lower on Wednesday, as a slew of factors such as a firmer yen, sliding oil prices, a deepening rout in Japanese government debt and concerns about the state of Europe's banks sapped investors' appetite for risk. Japanese shares hit a three-week low as a sell-off in government bonds and the internal debate conveyed by minutes of the Bank of Japan's June 15-16 policy meeting added to speculation the central bank could scale back on quantitative easing in the coming months. Chinese shares bucked the regional downtrend to end modestly higher after a private survey showed China's private sector expanded at the fastest pace since September 2014 in July despite moderation in services activity growth. Reports showed that the Caixin composite output index rose to 51.9 from 50.3 in June, driven by a marked expansion in the manufacturing sector. The services PMI fell to 51.7 from an 11-month high of 52.7 in June.