Most of the Asian equity benchmarks are trading lower in the early deals on Tuesday, as financial markets braced for the possibility of Greece defaulting on its debt, while a two-day policy meeting of the US Federal Reserve's monetary committee starting later in the day also prompted caution. The Japanese market is lower amid cautious trades, following the negative lead overnight from Wall Street amid concerns about Greece. Additionally, exporters are declining on the back of a stronger yen. Among the other markets in the Asian region, Shanghai, South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan are also in negative territory. Meanwhile, Indonesia and Malaysia are up with modest gains.
Nikkei 225 declined 98.91 points or 0.49 % to 20,288.88, KOSPI Index slipped 20.75 points or 1.02 % to 2,021.57, Taiwan Weighted contracted 69.45 points or 0.75 % to 9,190.03, Shanghai Composite dipped 67.71 points or 1.34 % to 4,995.28, Hang Seng decreased 90.48 points or 0.34 % to 26,771.33 and Straits Times was down by 20.64 points or 0.62 % to 3,302.49.
On the flip side, Jakarta Composite increased 14.91 points or 0.31 % to 4,852.71 and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI was up by 1.51 points or 0.09 % to 1,723.67.