The Asian markets closed mostly in red on Monday, tracking the lackluster cues from Wall Street. Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan markets were closed today on account of national holiday. Indonesia’s central bank will announce new policies aimed at increasing onshore supply of dollars, as part of the second installment of a stimulus package to support the shaky rupiah. Indonesia’s Finance Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro stated that the government is set to slash taxes for exporters in its second policy package to bolster the nation’s foreign exchange reserves and reduce volatility in the local exchange rate. The government is planning to lower income tax rates on interest exporters earn when they deposit their proceeds in local banks, as part of a strategy to keep dollar-denominated funds from leaving the country. China’s top economic planner with National Development and Reform Commission, Wang Changlin, stated that despite the weakened environment in the traditional industry sector, the service and high-tech sectors are emerging as strong growth drivers and helping the economy maintain growth at a medium-high pace. Tokyo’s core CPI, which excludes fresh food costs fell to at an annualized rate of -0.2%, from -0.1% in the preceding month.
Asian Indices Last Trade Change in Points Change in % Shanghai Composite 3,100.76 8.41 0.27 Hang Seng - - - Jakarta Composite 4,120.50 -88.93 -2.11 KLSE Composite 1,608.43 -6.58 -0.41 Nikkei 225 17,645.11 -235.40 -1.32 Straits Times 2,791.92 -40.72 -1.44 KOSPI Composite - - - Taiwan Weighted - - -