Most of the Asian equity benchmarks are trading down in the early deals on Tuesday, following the weak lead overnight from Wall Street and European markets amid increased chances of an interest rate hike by the US Federal Reserve this year and on worries about slower global economic growth. The weakness in commodity prices also weighed on the markets. Meanwhile, the Japanese stocks fell after losses on Wall Street and soft data from China hurt short-term sentiment, while some investors took profits on recent gains. Additionally, a stronger yen weighed on exporters' stocks. Among the other Asian markets, South Korea, Hong Kong, Indonesia, and Taiwan are also weak. Bucking the trend, Shanghai is marginally higher. The markets in Malaysia and Singapore are closed on Tuesday in observance of Deepavali.
Nikkei 225 dropped 32.57 points or 0.17% to 19,610.17, Hang Seng declined 270.32 points or 1.19% to 22,456.45, Jakarta Composite slipped 3.31 points or 0.07% to 4,496.20, KOSPI Index dipped 31.99 points or 1.58% to 1,993.71, and Taiwan Weighted was down by 89.30 points or 1.03% to 8,553.18.
On the flip side, Shanghai Composite was up by 15.48 points or 0.42% to 3,662.36.