Asian equity benchmarks are trading down in the early deals on Monday, as the weak cues from Wall Street on Friday and the deadly terror attacks in Paris sapped risk appetite. The attacks left 129 people dead and more than 350 injured. Investors, already nervous about slowing growth in China and the future of the euro zone, are fretting about stocks and oil prices. Travel could slow not only to Paris but other major cities, hurting airlines and other related businesses. Meanwhile, the Japanese market is notably lower, with Friday's losses on Wall Street, the terror attacks in Paris and a decline in Japan's gross domestic product for a second consecutive quarter weighing on investor sentiment.
Nikkei 225 slipped 202.10 points or 1.03% to 19,394.81, Hang Seng dipped 364.98 points or 1.63% to 22,031.16, Shanghai Composite dropped 18.30 points or 0.51% to 3,562.54, Jakarta Composite decreased 46.35 points or 1.04% to 4,426.49, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI declined 1.64 points or 0.10% to 1,657.27, KOSPI Index crumbled 24.23 points or 1.23% to 1,949.06, Straits Times contracted 27.25 points or 0.93% to 2,898.43, and Taiwan Weighted was down by 34.77 points or 0.42% to 8,294.73.