Asian stocks followed the negative lead......>

STOCKS: Asian stocks followed the negative lead from Wall St as Fed Chair Powell

appeared upbeat on US economic prospects. Further weight was added by soft

Chinese official PMI data and the BoJ trimming its super-long end purchases in

its latest batch of Rinban operations.

- The Nikkei 225 traded 0.9% lower as a stronger JPY weighed on risk sentiment

alongside soft industrial production data, with banks and auto names being the

main laggards, as all sectors traded lower.

- The Hang Seng traded 1.7% lower, with all the major sectors in the red and

energy names leading the losses.

- Soft Chinese PMI data & a lack of liquidity injection via the PBoC weighed on

the Chinese equity space with the CSI 300 last 1.2% lower.

- The ASX 200 followed the trend losing 0.66%, with telecoms and real estate

names leading the decline. Industrial names & consumer staples managed to edged

higher.

- US index futures continued their decline with the e-mini S&P 500 5 points

lower & the mini Dow 50 points softer.