Asian equity benchmarks are trading down in the early deals on Friday, following the weak lead overnight from Wall Street on disappointing corporate earnings results from big-name companies. Investors also resorted to profit taking in some of the markets following the recent strong gains. Crude oil prices advanced in Asian trades after falling overnight. China stocks fell to post their biggest weekly decline in three months, as resource shares tumbled after regulators moved to cool commodities trading amid signs of overheating. Meanwhile, the Japanese market declined after three straight days of gains, with the weak cues overnight from Wall Street and a stronger yen denting investor sentiment.
Nikkei 225 slipped 52.17 points or 0.30% to 17,311.45, Hang Seng dropped 205.81 points or 0.95% to 21,416.44, Shanghai Composite dipped 17.54 points or 0.59% to 2,935.35, Taiwan Weighted declined 59.75 points or 0.70% to 8,508.90, KOSPI Index crumbled 9.75 points or 0.48% to 2,012.35, Straits Times contracted 25.16 points or 0.85% to 2,935.62, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI decreased 4.32 points or 0.25% to 1,717.15, and Jakarta Composite was down by 2.82 points or 0.06% to 4,900.27.