Most of the Asian equity benchmarks are trading lower in the early deals on Tuesday, with investors treading cautiously, looking ahead to some crucial economic events. Further, a survey showed China's services sector growth fell to a record low, pouring cold water on the positive market mood following upbeat U.S. earnings and relief over Portugal's rescue of its largest bank too contributed to downside. Lingering concerns about the situation in Ukraine and the Middle East and caution ahead of the European Central Bank's policy announcement are also contributing to weakness in the markets. After opening modestly higher on positive cues from Wall Street, the Japanese stock market retreated, with investors reacting to some corporate earnings reports. In economic news, the services sector in Japan moved to expansion in July, the latest survey from Markit Economics revealed on Tuesday in its latest performance of service index - which came in with a score of 50.4 that is up from 49.0 in June. Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, South Korea and Taiwan are trading weak, while Singapore is modestly higher.
Nikkei 225 tumbled by 52.96 points or 0.34% to 15,421.54, Hang Seng slipped 28.54 points or 0.12% to 24,571.54, KOSPI Index declined by 8.32 points or 0.40% to 2,072.10, Jakarta Composite decreased by 10.37 points or 0.20% to 5,108.88, Shanghai Composite dipped 6.91 points or 0.31% to 2,216.42, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI contracted by 1.19 points or 0.06% to 1,874.61 and Taiwan Weighted was down by 158.55 points or 1.70% to 9,171.64.
On the flip side, Straits Times was up by 9.06 points or 0.27% to 3,327.46.