Asia: Most stocks down as Shanghai Index falls to its lowest since January

Most Asian stocks were down on Thursday driven by Chinese losses as the world's second biggest economy had its gross domestic product (GDP) forecast downgraded by HSBC.

The Shanghai composite index fell 3.91% to its lowest since January.

HSBC cut its China GDP outlook to 7.1% from 7.3%, driven by softer external demand and the strength of the yuan. The bank also cut its export forecast sharply to 4.2% from 7.1%.

Oil and gas company Petrochina was one of the most affected stocks, plunging 8.39%. China Construction Bank fell 5.9%.

Also in the news was Sunac China, which dropped its proposal to acquire its rival Kaisa for $1.2bn.

Furthermore, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng closed down 2.16%.

On the bright side, Japan's Nikkei 225 was up 0.39% thanks to a weaker yen, which hit its lowest level since 2002.

Retail sales rose 5% year-on-year in April, the first positive result in three months, but still came lower than expectations of a 5.4% growth.

Large retailers' sales jumped to 8.6% in April from a decline of 13% the month before.

Elsewhere in Australia, the ASX index lost 0.21%, as its private capital expenditure fell 4.4% during the first quarter.

Mining stocks were hit the hardest, with BHP Billiton down 0.75% and its rival Rio Tinto down 0.70%.