Asian stocks stumbled early Wednesday, as fresh data due out of China added to concerns over the state of the world's second-largest economy.

The mainland's consumer price index (CPI) rose 1.6 percent in September from a year earlier, against forecasts of a 1.8 percent rise from a Reuters poll and following August's 2 percent gain.

The producer price index (PPI) fell 5.9 percent, in line with expectations and after a 5.9 percent fall in the previous month. The PPI, which measures wholesale prices, clocked its 43rd straight month of decline as overcapacity in a number of sectors coupled with a lack of demand to keep a lid on prices.

The raft of consumer price data follows official data released on Tuesday that showed the country's dollar-denominated imports plunged 20.4 percent in September to chalk up the 11th consecutive month of decline, while exports fell 3.7 percent from a year earlier.

Major US averages fell overnight, as investors weighed slight declines in oil prices and further indications of a persistent slowdown in China's economy.

The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average broke a seven-day winning streak by ending down 0.3 percent. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite closed down 0.7 and 0.9 percent respectively.

China stocks lower

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China's share markets opened lower on Tuesday, with the Shanghai Composite index ticking down 0.2 percent.

Among China's other indexes, the benchmark CSI300 Index edged down 0.2 percent, while the smaller Shenzhen Composite lingered just a tad below the flatline.

Nikkei loses 2 percent

Japan's Nikkei 225 index crashed to its lowest level since October 5, with export-oriented counters dented by renewed strength in the yen.

Dollar-yen last traded at 119.53, as the greenback pulled back amid heightening bets that the Federal Reserve may not raise short-term interest rates until 2016.

Carmakers such as Toyota Motor, Nissan, Suzuki Motor and Honda declined between 1.8 and 2.7 percent, while Komatsu - a construction equipment maker with heavy exposure to China - slumped 3.9 percent.

Nikon tumbled 5.4 percent after the Nikkei business daily reported that the company's April-September operating profit likely fell 27 percent to 9.5 billion yen as digital camera sales missed expectations.

Oil-related counters remained under pressure; Inpex sold down 3.8 percent, while JX Holdings and Showa Shell shaved off 2.6 and 2 percent respectively.

Defying the downturn, movie firm Toho rallied as high as 4 percent to a 2-month high following the release of strong earnings guidance on Tuesday.

ASX eases 0.6 percent

Australia's S&P ASX 200 index touched a one-week low, on course to log a three-session losing streak.

Among casualties in the key resources sector, Santos, Woodside Petroleum and Oil Search lost between 1.6 and 7.6 percent, hurt byprice falls in the prior session when an International Energy Agency (IEA) report said the market would stay oversupplied for at least another year. Fortescue Metals receded 2.3 percent, while bigger rivals BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto made losses of more than 1 percent each.

Major lenders swung back into the red following news that Westpac will raise AUSD3.5 billion (USD 2.54 billion) to meet new capital rules, while also pushing home loan rates higher by 20 basis points.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia and National Australia Bank ticked down modestly, while Australia and New Zealand Banking dropped 0.8 percent. Trading in Westpac shares has been halted and is expected to recommence next Monday.

Bucking the downtrend, Domino's Pizza surged 4.8 percent after the company said it will be enlarging its ambitions in France through the acquisition of Pizza Sprint for around AUSD55.2 million.

In other corporate news, Treasury Wine Estates said on Wednesday it had agreed to buy the majority of Diageo's US and British wine operations for USD 552 million, while announcing a fully underwritten rights issue to raise around AUSD 486 million to fund the acquisition. Shares of the wine maker are halted for trade following the announcement.

Kospi sags 0.5 percent

South Korea's Kospi index nursed modest losses in early trade.

Among losers were brokerages such as Daewoo Securities and Samsung Securities, down nearly 2 percent each. SK Innovation and S-Oil extended steep losses, tumbling more than 3 percent each.

Blue-chip stocks were mixed; Kepco and Hyundai Motor bounced up 3.4 and 0.3 percent respectively, while Samsung Electronics edged down 0.4 percent.

STI flat

Advanced gross domestic product (GDP) showed Singapore avoiding a technical recession, with the economy growing 0.1 percent on-quarter in the third quarter, slightly beating expectations for a narrow contraction of 0.1 percent.

The Southeast Asian economy expanded 1.4 percent from the year-earlier period, also slightly better than market consensus.

However, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) still reduced the rate of appreciation for the Singapore dollar even as it maintained its policy of "modest and gradual appreciation" for the currency. The Singapore dollar climbed despite the decision, with the U.S. dollar fetching as little as 1.3932 Singapore dollars, compared with around 1.4023 Singapore dollars before the data release and the MAS announcement.

Rather than use interest rates, Singapore's central bank manages its monetary policy by adjusting an undisclosed trading band based on a basket of currencies weighted to reflect trade levels with the city-state.

The benchmark Straits Times index opened little changed to hover below the key psychological support level of 3,000.

First Published:Oct 14, 2015 7:39 AM IST