Most of the Asian equity benchmarks are trading down in the early deals on Tuesday amid continuing worries about China's slowing economy, while weak commodity prices weighed on resources stocks. Meanwhile, the Japanese market is higher, tracking the overnight gains on Wall Street. In addition, a weaker yen lifted exporters' stocks. Though, gains were capped as investors remained cautious before key events expected through this week until month-end. Among the other Asian markets, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and Malaysia are lower. Bucking the trend, South Korea, and Indonesia are in positive territory.
Hang Seng dropped 110.63 points or 0.48% to 22,964.98, Shanghai Composite declined 2.96 points or 0.09% to 3,383.75, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI decreased 4.41 points or 0.26% to 1,713.79, Straits Times dipped 2.55 points or 0.08% to 3,021.95, and Taiwan Weighted was down by 7.73 points or 0.09% to 8,623.77.
On the flip side, Nikkei 225 surged 48.49 points or 0.27% to 18,179.72, KOSPI Index added 4.54 points or 0.22% to 2,034.81, and Jakarta Composite was up by 23.08 points or 0.51% to 4,592.92.