Asian stocks stabilize as China yuan turmoil subsides

HONG KONG (AP) — Asian stock markets stabilized Thursday after a two-day sell-off sparked by China's currency devaluation.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng was little changed at 23,904.29 while the Shanghai Composite Index in mainland China slipped 0.9 percent to 3,852.32.

The surprise move earlier this week to loosen the mechanism that controls the yuan and send the currency lower reverberated through global markets but the turmoil is now abating.

U.S. shares and some commodities such as oil and copper steadied overnight, which may support sentiment, "but all eyes will turn to the yuan rate set this morning to set the tone," CMC Markets chief strategist Michael McCarthy said in a commentary.