Overnight

A down day on Wall Street set the tome for Asia overnight as the Nikkei 225 hit a three-week low Wednesday with the index-off 0.9% at 16,249.97 as investors showed their apparent disappointment in Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's latest attempt to stimulate the Japanese economy.The Topix was down 1.3%, the Kospi dropped 1%  and after the Reserve Bank of Australia cut it s cash rate 25 basis point to 1.50%, the ASX 200 fell 0.8%.  The dollar was up 0.4 percent on the day at 101.25 yen , but as it stayed near a 3-week trough of 100.680 hit overnight. The yen's recent strength impacts Japan's exporters.The Hang Send was down 1.6%.

Meanwhile, oil prices traded higher with U.S. crude up 0.68 percent to $39.78. Global benchmark Brent futures traded up 0.55 percent at $42.03.he Wall Street Jurnal reported that China’s service sector expanded at a slower pace in July, data from Caixin Media Co. and research firm Markit showed. The Caixin China services purchasing managers index slipped to 51.7 in July from 52.7 in June.  The fall came after an 11-month high reading in June, pointing to renewed softness in the nation’s service sector, despite the government’s efforts to bolster economic growth.