Chinese equities plunged on Thursday as boost from Japan's easing measures appeared to be short-lived. The HSBC China PMI inched up to 47.8 in September from 47.6 in August; however, slightly better data still suggests contraction of the China's manufacturing activity. Poor performance of Japanese equities also added pressure on Chinese stocks. The Hang Seng Index sank 1.20% to close at 20,590.92. All but one sectors in the index dropped. The only gainer was utility sector, with Power Assets and China Resources Power advancing 1.01% and 0.71%. Airlines also rose slightly on lower oil prices. Cathay Pacific Air gained 0.77%. Sending the China's blue chips index lower, oil and gas and basic materials slumped. CNOOC and PertoChina slid 3.56% and 1.76% while Aluminum Corp of China moved lower by 0.93%.