Asia stocks lower as China's central bank holds rates steady

Asia-pacific markets were mostly lower on Thursday, as China kept its one and five-year loan prime rates unchanged-- in line with expectations. The one-year loan prime rates serves as a benchmark for most corporate and household loans, while the five-year rates serves as a peg for the property sector, The one year LPR remains at 3.45% and five year LPR stands at 3.95%. Mainland China CSI 300 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng dipped, mainly dragged by hot pot chain Haidilao which plummetted more than 6-percent. Japanese stock also declined. Over in South Korea, the Kospi gained 0.4-3 percent, while the small-cap Kosdaq slipped 0.41%. Shares of the country's largest shipping company HMM, climbed more than 3%. Meanwhile, the Taiwan Weighted Index touched new highs for the third day in a row, gaining 0.43%.