Most of the Asian equity benchmarks are trading lower in early deals on Thursday as investors flocked to safe haven assets such as bonds and gold on Thursday, spooked by a Russian troop build-up on the border with Ukraine and tit-for-tat economic sanctions between the West and Moscow. Sentiments soured further in Asia after the Australian dollar, seen as a barometer of risk appetite, sank after Australia's unemployment rate jumped unexpectedly to a 12-year high, sparking talk of an interest rate cut there. The Japanese stock market drifted lower, with the yen's rise hurting sentiment. Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, South Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Singapore are all trading weak.
Nikkei 225 contracted by 62.05 points or 0.41% to 15,097.74, Hang Seng dipped 126.07 points or 0.51% to 24,458.06, KOSPI Index crumbled by 9.53 points or 0.46% to 2,051.20, Jakarta Composite decreased by 2.29 points or 0.05% to 5,055.94, Shanghai Composite slipped 13.13 points or 0.59% to 2,204.33, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI dropped by 1.24 points or 0.07% to 1,868.6, Straits Times shed by 14.19 points or 0.43% to 3,306.04. and Taiwan Weighted was down by 6.52 points or 0.07% to 9,137.45.