Most of the Asian equity indices are trading lower in the early deals on Friday, despite a positive lead overnight from Wall Street. Investors treaded cautiously due to concerns about the Chinese economy and lingering worries about Ukraine. The Japanese stock market dropped with investors reacting to a slew of economic data. The stronger Yen against all of its major peers after inflation accelerated in Japan, damping prospects for additional monetary stimulus, too contributed to the downside. On the economic front, industrial production in Japan was down 2.5 percent on month in April that missed forecasts for a decline of 2.0 percent following the 0.7 percent increase in March. Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Singapore, Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia and Taiwan are trading weak, while Hong Kong and Shanghai are trading in positive territory.
Jakarta Composite declined 44.86 points or 0.90% to 4,940.72, KLSE Composite slipped by 1.90 points or 0.10% to 1,874.72, Nikkei 225 tumbled by 50.58 points or 0.34% to 14,631.14, Straits Times decreased 8.76 points or 0.27% to 3,291.95, Seoul Composite shed by 7.46 points or 0.37% to 2,004.80 and Taiwan Weighted was down by 5.81 point or 0.06% to 9,103.19.
On the flip side, Shanghai Composite was marginally in green by 0.04 points to 2,040.64 and Hang Seng was up by 52.11 points or 0.23% to 23,062.25.