Asian stocks stuttered on Thursday, dogged by uncertainty over an intractable US-China trade dispute, while oil prices flirted with five-month lows due to higher US crude inventories and a bleak demand outlook. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan ticked down 0.1%, slipping from a one-month high touched earlier this week, while Japan's Nikkei lost 0.3%. At 26.4% year-on-year, the drop in China sales is lower than the 46.7% drop in April, and the steep decline of 51% in the March quarter. Meanwhile, crude oil tumbled 4% to its lowest settlements in nearly five months, pressured by another unexpected rise in US crude stockpiles and by a dimming outlook for global oil demand. Brent crude futures barely moved at $60.01 in early trade after a 3.7% slide on Wednesday to $59.97 a barrel, the international benchmark's lowest close since January 28.

Source: Mint June 13, 2019 03:31 UTC