Asian equity benchmarks are trading lower in the early deals on Tuesday, hit by a sagging Wall Street and deadlocked Greek bailout negotiations. More weak Chinese economic data further clouded the gloomy outlook. The Japanese market declined, following the losses on Wall Street and European markets overnight. Additionally, a stronger yen weighed on exporters' stocks.
Nikkei 225 contracted 149.85 points or 0.73% to 20,307.34, Hang Seng slipped 278.01 points or 1.02% to 27,038.27, Shanghai Composite declined 63.31 points or 1.23% to 5,068.57, Jakarta Composite decreased 133.45 points or 2.66% to 4,881.54, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI crumbled 7.93 points or 0.46% to 1,731.52, Taiwan Weighted dropped 114.95 points or 1.23% to 9,253.48, KOSPI Index dipped 6.73 points or 0.33% to 2,058.46 and Straits Times was down by 9.71 points or 0.29% to 3,310.62.