Most of the Asian equity benchmarks are trading lower in the early deals on Friday, with investors treading cautiously amid worries about the ongoing conflict in Iraq. The overnight lackluster close on Wall Street and some profit taking also contributed to the weakness in some of the markets in the region. On the regional front, the Japanese market edged higher after opening lower due to some profit taking, as buying resumed at several front line counters. Chinese Shanghai Composite dropped due to the concern that the resumption of initial public offerings will divert funds from existing equities. Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Hong Kong is modestly higher. South Korea is notably lower, while Shanghai, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan are down marginally.
KOSPI Index slipped by 22.51 points or 1.13% to 1,969.52, Straits Times declined 4.76 points or 0.15% to 3,264.26, Shanghai Composite contracted by 10.64 points or 0.53% to 2,013.09, Jakarta Composite tumbled 4.12 points or 0.08% to 4,860.16, Taiwan Weighted decreased 18.32 points or 0.20% to 9,298.49 and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI was down by 1.87 points or 0.10% to 1,879.61.
On the flip side, Nikkei 225 spurted by 25.93 points or 0.17% to 15,387.09, Hang Seng was up by 51.13 points or 0.22% to 23,218.86.