Most of the Asian equity benchmarks are trading lower in the early deals on Tuesday, with investors treading cautiously amid a lack of triggers. The overnight flat close on Wall Street, worries about the financial situation in Greece and lower commodity prices appear to be weighing on sentiment. Further, Japanese stocks fell due to investors closed positions ahead of the long New Year holidays and fretted over political turmoil in Greece. Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, South Korea and Hong Kong are notably lower. Malaysia, Shanghai, Singapore and Taiwan are down marginally, while Indonesia is up slightly.
Nikkei 225 dipped 162.18 points or 0.91% to 17,567.66, KOSPI Index slipped 13.20 points or 0.68% to 1,914.66, Straits Times dropped 2.28 points or 0.07% to 3,365.41, Hang Seng contracted by 221.95 points or 0.93% to 23,551.23, Shanghai Composite decreased by 12.74 points or 0.40% to 3,155.28, Taiwan Weighted declined by 6.07 points or 0.07% to 9,280.21 and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI was down by 1.41 points or 0.08% to 1,767.00.
On the flip side, Jakarta Composite was up by 10.38 points or 0.19% to 5,187.51.