Asia stocks mixed as oil prices continue to plunge

Asia Pacific stocks were mixed on Wednesday as oil prices continued to decline.

Mainland Chinese stocks edged higher on the day, with the Shanghai composite up 0.6 percent to about 2,843.98 while the Shenzhen composite jumped 1.048 percent to approximately 1,771.80. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was 0.36 percent higher, as of its final hour of trading.

South Korea’s Kospi also edged 0.89 percent higher to close at 1,896.15. Over in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 finished its trading day flat at 5,221.20.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 fell 0.74% to close at 19,137.95 while the Topix index slipped 0.63 percent to end its trading day at 1,406.90.

Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index rose 0.58 percent .