Asian markets are exhibiting mixed trend in the early deals on Monday amid cautious trades, following the losses on Wall Street on weaker than expected jobs data and rising geopolitical tensions after the US said it will move an aircraft carrier group toward the Korean peninsula. Chinese equities were under pressure as the country’s top insurance regulator faces a graft probe, while South Korean stocks lagged due to geopolitical concerns. Meanwhile, Japan's Nikkei share average rose as comments from a US central banker supported the dollar against the yen, bolstering exporter stocks, while rising US yields helped financial stocks outperform. Higher crude oil prices lifted oil stocks. Among the other Asian markets, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Taiwan are edging higher. Bucking the trend, Indonesia and Malaysia are edging lower.
Nikkei 225 added 122.10 points or 0.65% to 18,786.73, Taiwan Weighted gained 0.98 points or 0.01% to 9,874.35, Straits Times increased 3.09 points or 0.10% to 3,180.36, and Hang Seng was up by 6.30 points or 0.03% to 24,273.60.
On the flip side, KOSPI Index declined 19.01 points or 0.88% to 2,132.72, Jakarta Composite dropped 0.07 points to 5,653.42, Shanghai Composite dipped 9.76 points or 0.30% to 3,276.86, and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI was down by 3.30 points or 0.19% to 1,738.42.