Asian equity benchmarks are trading lower in the early deals on Friday, with the negative lead from Wall Street, fading stimulus expectations and the fall in crude oil prices overnight dampening investor sentiment. As was widely expected, the European Central Bank on Thursday left its key interest rates unchanged in its first policy session after ‘Brexit’. But ECB President Mario Draghi did not offer any clues on future policy easing in September after he said that policy makers require more time to assess the need for additional stimulus measures in the present economic outlook. Meanwhile, Japanese shares fell, with the Topix index slumping from a six-week high, after the yen rose the most in nearly a month amid waning optimism that so-called helicopter money will be adopted as a stimulus measure.
Nikkei 225 declined 175.70 points or 1.05% to 16,634.52, Hang Seng slipped 99.29 points or 0.45% to 21,901.20, Shanghai Composite contracted 20.19 points or 0.66% to 3,018.82, Jakarta Composite decreased 34.58 points or 0.66% to 5,182.39, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI crumbled 1.38 points or 0.08% to 1,656.16, Taiwan Weighted dropped 45.71 points or 0.50% to 9,010.85, KOSPI Index dipped 2.40 points or 0.12% to 2,009.82, and Straits Times was down by 12.75 points or 0.43% to 2,927.73.