• Asian stocks held steady on Wednesday, capping a fifth consecutive month of gains as data showed China's factory activity grew at a steady clip this month, reassuring investors worried about a slowdown in the world's second-biggest economy.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was broadly flat on Wednesday as Chinese stocks ran out of steam after an early run higher.
• Japanese stocks slipped on Wednesday after weakness in U.S. shares and a stronger yen hurt sentiment, while sliding oil prices dragged down the mining sector.
The Nikkei share average fell 0.1 percent to 19,650.57 points.
• China stocks ended higher on Wednesday, but the bulk of early gains were erased as investors sought to weigh the impact of new trading rules on bulk selling.
The blue-chip CSI300 index closed up 0.4 percent, at 3,492.88 points, while the Shanghai Composite Index added 0.2 percent to 3,117.18 points.
• Hong Kong stocks ended Wednesday roughly flat, capping a fifth month of gains as steady inflows of Chinese money helped push the main share index to its highest in nearly 23 months.
Both the Hang Seng index and the China Enterprises Index fell 0.2 percent, to 25,660.65 and 10,602.97 points, respectively.
Reference: Reuters, CNBC
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