Seoul leads Asia stock losses

Stocks in Asia Pacific dipped in morning trade as China kept its benchmark lending rate on hold, CNBC reports.

South Korean stocks led losses regionally, with the Kospi dropping by 2.59 percent while Kosdaq index plunged by 3.78 percent.

The moves came as local news agency Yonhap reported daily new coronavirus cases in the country rising by triple digits for the seventh straight day.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index also dropped by 1.52 percent. Mainland Chinese stocks dipped in early trade, with the Shanghai composite down about 0.4 percent, while the Shenzhen component dipped by 0.119 percent.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 average slipped by 0.73 percent while the Topix index shed 0.59 percent.

Over in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 declined by 0.9 percent.

Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index traded 1.29 percent lower.