Asian stocks drop in pre-Christmas trading, Japan off

The Asian stocks trade on the back-foot, with little motivation as investors close out positions and look forward to the Christmas and New Year celebrations.

While the Japanese markets are closed today in observance of the Emperor's Birthday, leaving rest of Asia amidst low liquidity and lack-luster trading.

The Australian and Chinese equities are weighted by losses on the Wall Street overnight and declining oil prices. Besides, the USD index continues to consolidate near 14-year peaks, providing little impetus to the markets.

Meanwhile, the Australian S&P/ASX 200 drops -0.28% to 5,628. The Chinese equities extend its weakness, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite index down -0.61%, while CSI300 index trades -0.57% lower. Hong Kong markets decline -0.62% to 21,500 levels.