Most of the Asian equity benchmarks are trading lower in the early deals on Tuesday, as the prospect of higher US interest rates dimmed the outlook for equities. Consumer prices in China were up 1.4 percent on year in February, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday. That topped expectations for an increase of 1.0 percent, following the 0.8 percent gain in January. Among the other markets in the Asia-Pacific region Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia are in positive territory. Shanghai, Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan are down with modest losses.
Nikkei 225 contracted 127.79 points or 0.68% to 18,662.76, Hang Seng slipped 107.45 points or 0.45% to 24,015.60, Taiwan Weighted crumbled 8.64 points or 0.09% to 9,554.34, Shanghai Composite dipped by 3.60 points or 0.11% to 3,298.81 and KOSPI Index was down by 4.57 points or 0.23% to 1,988.25
On the flip side FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI gained 0.86 points or 0.05% to 1,792.60, Straits Times surge 6.01 points or 0.18% to 3,410.58 and Jakarta Composite was up by 18.18 points or 0.33% to 5,462.82.