Asia down as Ebola scare hits Wall St., dollar rally on pause

Asian stocks fell on Thursday, dragged lower after the first case of Ebola diagnosed in the United States spooked Wall Street overnight, while a bout of risk aversion pushed down yields and put the dollar's recent rally on pause. Investors warmed to the Japanese currency after a slew of surveys showed German factory activity shrank for the first time in 15 months, China's manufacturing sector barely grew, while the United States slowed more than expected. Federal Reserve is probing ways to normalize monetary policy, while the ECB is seen stuck with its very lose easy policy for the foreseeable future. "The market interest is not in the rates decision, where the ECB insists the refinancing rate will not fall further from 0.05 percent, but in President Draghi's press conference," Sean Callow, senior currency strategist at Westpac in Sydney, wrote in a note to clients.

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