Most of the Asian equity benchmarks are trading lower in the early deals on Monday, as upbeat US jobs data released on Friday raised concerns about the outlook for US interest rates. Investors are also treading cautiously ahead of the release of trade data by China later in the day. The Japanese market declined after strong US jobs data stoked concerns that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates as early as September, triggering profit-taking in exporters and other recent gainers. Among other markets in the Asian region, South Korea, Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia are also lower. Meanwhile, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Taiwan are marginally higher.
Nikkei 225 declined 10.73 points or 0.05 % to 20,450.17, Jakarta Composite slipped 49.22 points or 0.97 % to 5,051.35, KOSPI Index contracted 2.31 points or 0.11% to 2,065.79, Straits Times crumbled 3.97 points or 0.12% to 3,329.70 and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI was down by 6.75 points or 0.39% to 1,738.58.
On the flip side, Shanghai Composite rose 45.37 points or 0.90% to 5,068.47, Taiwan Weighted surged 70.42 points or 0.75 % to 9,410.55 and Hang Seng was up by 89.93 points or 0.33% to 27,350.09.