Asian equity markets ended lower on Friday in thin holiday trade, as uncertainty over Brexit referendum and caution ahead of a slew of Chinese data due this weekend and central bank meetings in the US and Japan next week, kept investors on edge. Singapore's Trade Minister Lim Hng Kiang reportedly said that a British vote to leave the European Union would have a significant impact on the United Kingdom and do nothing positive for the global economy. Nobuteru Ishihara, the Japanese economy minister, recently said he was ‘closely watching’ the impact of the referendum. A Brexit vote could have significant economic repercussions, Fed Chair Janet Yellen said in a speech on June 6. Japanese shares retreated as the yield on 10-year government bonds fell to a fresh record low of minus 0.14 percent and the yen strengthened on safe-haven bids ahead of the Fed and BOJ meetings due next week. Hong Kong stocks suffered their biggest one-day drop in more than three weeks, as traders were rattled by a report that billionaire investor George Soros, a noted China sceptic, was making big, bearish bets again. Markets in mainland China and Taiwan remained closed for the Dragon Boat Festival.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | - | - | - |
Hang Seng | 21,042.64 | -255.24 | -1.20 |
Jakarta Composite | 4,848.06 | -28.74 | -0.59 |
KLSE Composite | 1,641.22 | -9.29 | -0.56 |
Nikkei 225 | 16,601.36 | -67.05 | -0.40 |
Straits Times | 2,822.97 | -20.83 | -0.73 |
KOSPI Composite | 2,017.63 | -6.54 | -0.32 |
Taiwan Weighted | - | - | - |