Most of the Asian equity benchmarks are trading in red in the early deals on Friday, following the overnight sell-off on Wall Street and the decline in crude oil prices amid renewed worries about global economic growth. China’s stocks fell led by consumer and energy companies, after global equities slumped and investors speculated next week’s inflation data will make it difficult for the government to further ease monetary policy. Hong Kong shares also dropped, tracking weak global markets, as bank shares slumped in Europe and the United States. However, the Japanese market rose despite the yen rose to a seventeen-month high against the US dollar overnight after Bank of Japan officials said the central bank is unlikely to intervene in the currency. Among the other Asian markets, Singapore, Shanghai, South Korea, Indonesia and Malaysia are down with modest losses.
Hang Seng dropped 141.58 points or 0.70% to 20,124.47, Jakarta Composite declined 35.97 points or 0.74% to 4,831.32, Shanghai Composite dipped 27.00 points or 0.90% to 2,981.42, Straits Times contracted 15.64 points or 0.56% to 2,797.95, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI slipped 7.69 points or 0.45% to 1,716.60, and KOSPI Index was down by 8.35 points or 0.42% to 1,965.54.
On the flip side, Nikkei 225 added 88.66 points or 0.56% to 15,838.50, and Taiwan Weighted was up by 52.22 points or 0.62% to 8,542.47.