Bloomberg - Asian stocks fell, extending the regional index’s steepest weekly slump since 2012, as western nations disputed Crimea’s vote to rejoin Russia and China eased control over the yuan. Gold drove an advance in precious metals and the yen maintained gains against the dollar.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index lost 0.1 percent by 9:10 a.m. in Tokyo, extending last week’s worst weekly slump since May 2012. Japan’s Topix Index dropped 0.3 percent, while Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures fell 0.1 percent after the gauge’s 2 percent weekly retreat.