Asian Stocks Decline From 19-Month High; Japex Jumps

Asian stocks fell from a 19-month high as Chinese shares extended their decline. Japan Petroleum Exploration Co. surged after Japan confirmed it has extracted frozen natural gas from under the seabed.

China Cosco Holdings Co., the nation’s biggest shipping company, dropped 5.3 percent after Citigroup Inc. said the sale of its logistics unit means the loss of a stable, growing business. Whitehaven Coal Ltd., Australia’s second-biggest independent coal producer, sank 5.5 percent on government plans for stricter coal mining approvals. Japan Petroleum, the country’s second-largest oil and gas explorer, surged 5.7 percent after Japan confirmed gas output from methane hydrate, known as “burnable ice.”