ASIA PACIFIC

STOCKS dropped yesterday, after the regional benchmark index surged by the most in six years on Wednesday, as data on US job openings bolstered the case for higher interest rates. The MSCI Asia Pacific index sank 1.5 percent to 127.43 points as of 4.10pm in Hong Kong after jumping 4.2 percent on Wednesday. Japan’s Topix index lost 1.9 percent, while the Nikkei 225 stock average plunged 2.5 percent after surging by most since October 2008 on Wednesday. China’s Shanghai composite index dropped 1.4 percent. The Hang Seng index ended the day 2.6 percent lower. – Bloomberg