Stock markets across Asian region continued to trade on a cautious note on the week’s last trading session as investors were short on conviction to open fresh bets, lacking any catalyst. Equity indices in the region displayed mixed trends as the overnight US markets failed to give clear direction. Markets in the region which had climbed higher in early trades failed to sustain the gains as the concern about Greece's future kept looming large, while there were mixed set of economic reports from US that gave investors little reason to take risk. On one hand, US weekly jobless claims dipped modestly for the week ended May 19 while on the other data showed that demand for long-lasting manufactured goods rose less than expected in April.
The benchmark in Indonesia plummeted around one and half a percent in the session and remained the top laggard among regional peers. The Chinese equity index too traded on a negative note with around half a percent cut amid speculations that Chinese biggest banks may fall short of loan targets, weighing down the investors sentiments. However, markets in Malaysia and South Korea bucked the somber trend and traded with a slightly positive tick.
Shanghai Composite declined 9.43 points or 0.40% to 2,341.54, Hang Seng Index fell 51.74 points or 0.28% to 18,614.66, Jakarta Composite plummeted 54.92 points or 1.38% to 3,929.95, Straits Times Index shed 11.66 points or 0.42% to 2,767.87 and Taiwan Weighted sank 42.85 points or 0.60% to 7,082.04.
On the other hand, KLSE Composite gained 0.81 points or 0.05% to 1,549.06, Nikkei 225 rose by 0.27 points to 8,563.65 and KOSPI Composite Index added 5.14 points or 0.28% to 1,819.61.
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