The Nikkei 225 in Japan was up by 0.56% on Wednesday, but the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong slumped by nearly 2%; stocks also fell in Shanghai, Sydney, Bangkok and other markets
Yuan drops to 7.1747, with analysts saying markets expected bigger support and were hoping for a larger lending rate cut
The move is China's latest effort to enable the internationalisation of the yuan and protect its economy from capital outflows and geopolitical risks
Prior to sanctions imposed by the West, which cut Moscow off from international financial systems, Russia made the dividend payments in dollars
China Labour Bulletin recorded over 140 strikes at factories across the country in the first five months of this year, the highest since 2016
The speed of the yuan's slide has caught many off-guard. JP Morgan recently downgraded its year-end yuan forecast, from 6.85 per dollar to 7.25 per dollar.
The deal, for 100,000 tonnes of crude from Moscow, was completed in the Chinese currency and not the US dollar which dominates international oil trade
"De-dollarisation is evident in FX reserves where [the dollar's] share has declined to a record as share in exports declined but is still emerging in commodities," the US bank noted
BRICS foreign ministers have asserted their bloc's ambition to rival Western powers and build up their influence in a multi-polar world
Weak economic data, widening yield differentials with the US, and capital outflows through foreign selling of stocks and bonds have dragged currency down to six-month lows to the dollar
The manufacturing purchasing managers' index fell to a five-month low of 48.8, the Statistics Bureau said on Wednesday, while service sector activity was the slowest in four months
Asia stocks sink to two-month low, with Hong Kong down 2%, Sydney, Shanghai and the BSE Sensex all lower on Thursday. The Nikkei was the key outlier once again, rising nearly 0.4%.