Most of the Asian stock markets are trading lower in the early deals on Monday. The concerns about the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East are weighing on sentiment to an extent. On the regional front, the Japanese market traded higher, however, the gains were limited with stocks swinging between gains and losses amid a lack of direction. A slightly stronger yen too contributed to the market's decline from higher levels. The Chinese Shanghai Composite rose as industrial and technology companies advanced. Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Shanghai and Hong Kong are trading higher. South Korea, Indonesia, and Singapore are down with modest losses, while Taiwan is notably lower.
KOSPI Index dipped 5.20 points or 0.25% to 2,058.02, Straits Times dropped by 8.54 points or 0.26% to 3,306.23, Jakarta Composite tumbled by 6.59 points or 0.13% to 5,148.96, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI slipped 1.49 points or 0.08% to 1,862.82 and Taiwan Weighted was down by 49.09 points or 0.53% to 9,157.72.
On the flip side, Nikkei 225 surged by 3.77 points or 0.02% to 15,318.34, Hang Seng gained 153.58 points or 0.62% to 24,954.94 and Shanghai Composite was up by 20.27 points or 0.92% to 2,226.73.