All the Asian equity indices barring Jakarta Composite are trading lower in the early deals on Wednesday, tracking cues from Wall Street where the major averages closed lower overnight with investors indulging in some profit taking ahead of corporate earnings results. The speculation about a hike in US Federal Reserve's interest rate sooner than expected also contributed to the downtrend. On the regional front, the Japanese stock market declined on the back of overnight decline on Wall Street and a stronger yen. On the economic front, the M2 money stock in Japan was up 3.0 percent on year in June - standing at 875.3 trillion yen. That matched expectations, and it also slowed from 3.3 percent in May. China’s stocks fell for the first time in three days, led by technology and energy companies, after the release of inflation data. Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Hong Kong is notably lower. Shanghai, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and Malaysia are down with modest losses, while Indonesia is trading notably higher.
Nikkei 225 dropped by 58.39 points or 0.38% to 15,256.02, Hang Seng slipped 300.59 points or 1.28% to 23,240.79, KOSPI Index contracted by 9.79 points or 0.49% to 1,996.87, Straits Times declined by 13.40 points or 0.41% to 3,269.94, Shanghai Composite dipped 7.13 points or 0.35% to 2,056.89, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI decreased by 2.75 points or 0.15% to 1,889.90 and Taiwan Weighted was down by 34.22 points or 0.36% to 9,496.76.
On the flip side, Jakarta Composite was up by 35.68 points or 0.72% to 5,024.71.