Most of the Asian equity benchmarks are trading lower on Friday amid worries that US president-elect Donald Trump's plans to cut taxes and spend on infrastructure, might stoke inflation. Further, US bond markets have also seen dramatic moves since Trump's victory, with the 10-year US Treasury yield hitting their highest levels in 10 months. Meanwhile, stronger commodity prices lifted resources stocks. The Japanese market bucked the regional selloff, reflecting investor optimism about an expansive US fiscal policy under Trump's presidency. In addition, the yen continued to slip against the US dollar, lifting exporters' shares. Among the other Asian markets, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan are trading lower. While the Shanghai market is in positive territory.
Hang Seng dipped 235.08 points or 1.03% to 22,604.03, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI slipped 16.25 points or 0.98% to 1,636.49, KOSPI Index decreased 14.15 points or 0.71% to 1,988.45, Straits Times declined 19.94 points or 0.70% to 2,814.15, Jakarta Composite slipped 160.99 points or 2.95% to 5,289.32, and Taiwan Weighted was down by 170.06 points or 1.86% to 8,982.12.
On the flip side, Nikkei 225 gained 29.88 points or 0.17% to 17,374.30, and Shanghai Composite was up by 19.22 points or 0.61% to 3,190.50.