Most of the Asian equity benchmarks are trading lower in the early deals on Tuesday. On the regional front, the Japanese stock market drifted lower after Canon Inc tumbled on weak earnings and soft global data offset upbeat domestic retail figures as investors waited cautiously for the outcome of a two-day US Federal Reserve policy meeting. Further, stronger yen also contributed to the downside. In economy news, retail sales in Japan spiked 2.3 percent on year to 11.242 trillion yen in September that was sharply higher than forecasts for an increase of 0.8 percent following the 1.2 percent gain in August. Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea and Singapore are trading weak, while Hong Kong, Shanghai, Taiwan and are up in positive territory.
Nikkei 225 tumbled by 110.42 points or 0.72% to 15,278.30, KOSPI Index declined by 5.16 points or 0.27% to 1,926.81, Straits Times dropped 13.70 points or 0.42% to 3,212.41, Jakarta Composite dipped 22.27 points or 0.44% to 5,002.02 and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI was down by 1.36 points or 0.07% to 1,821.79.
On the flip side, Hang Seng soared 141.07 points or 0.61% to 23,284.30, Shanghai Composite spurted by 27.17 points or 1.19% to 2,317.61 and Taiwan Weighted was up by 126.69 points or 1.47% to 8,754.47.