Most of the Asian markets are trading lower in the early deals on Monday after a batch of weak data out of China raised the spectre of a sharp slowdown in the world's second-biggest economy. Further, Investors are treading cautiously, looking ahead to the outcome of the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy meeting that concludes on Wednesday. Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Indonesia are notably lower. South Korea, Taiwan and Shanghai are down marginally. The Japanese market is closed for a holiday.
Straits Times contracted 1.62 points or 0.35% to 3,333.93, KOSPI Index dipped by 3.53 points or 0.17% to 2,038.33, Jakarta Composite decreased by 21.15 points or 0.41% to 5,122.56 and Shanghai Composite declined by 4.35 points or 0.19% to 2,327.60. FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI slipped by 9.18 points or 0.49% to 1,846.46, Hang Seng dropped by 201.16 points or 0.82% to 24,394.16. and Taiwan Weighted was down by 0.78 points or 0.01% to 9,216.01