Most of the Asian equity benchmarks are trading lower in the early deals on Monday amid worries about political and economic instability in Europe after Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said he will resign following his defeat in a constitutional reform referendum on Sunday. Japan's Nikkei share average too fell after Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi's defeat in a constitutional reform referendum gave investors an opportunity to sell into a market that had rallied to 11-month highs late last week. Among the other Asian markets, Shanghai, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Taiwan are also lower. Bucking the trend, Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia are edging higher.
Nikkei 225 declined 178.71 points or 0.97% to 18,247.37, Hang Seng dropped 1.38 points or 0.01% to 22,676.69, Shanghai Composite dipped 42.10 points or 1.30% to 3,201.74, KOSPI Index contracted 4.28 points or 0.22% to 1,966.33, and Taiwan Weighted was down by 3.08 points or 0.03% to 9,186.41.
On the flip side, Straits Times added 7.28 points or 0.25% to 2,926.65, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI jumped 0.63 points or 0.04% to 1,629.59, and Jakarta Composite was up by 20.15 points or 0.38% to 5,266.11.