China leads Asian stocks down

Asian stock indices opened the fifth session of August lower after US President Donald Trump signed executive orders banning Americans in 45 days from dealing with Chinese apps TikTok or WeChat, described as "untrustworthy" and a "security risk". 

Earlier Japanese data showed household spending fell 1.2% in June, improving from a 16.2% tumble in May, while average earnings fell 1.7%. 

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe warned the current Covid 19 situation in Japan is worse than in April, but it doesn't require an emergency state. 

Earlier Australian data showed the services AIG index rose to 44 from 31.5 in June, after the Reserve Bank of Australia voted to maintain rates at record lows of 0.25%. 

The RBA expects recovery to be slower than expected, and the GDP to shrink by about 6% in 2020. 

Earlier Chinese data showed the trade surplus up to 442 billion yuan from 329 billion, besting estimates of 291 billion. 

Japan's TOPEX fell 0.48%, while Nikkei 225 fell 0.83% to 22,232. 

China's CSI 300 tumbled 1.7%, while Shanghai swooned 1.45% to 3,337. 

Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 3.01% to 24,180, while South Korea's KOSPI fell 0.16% to 2,338. 

New Zealand's NZX 50 fell 0.87%, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.73% to 5,998.