Asian equity markets ended mostly in red on Thursday as US political turmoil continued to keep investors nervous. Besieged from all sides, the Trump administration appointed former FBI Director Robert Mueller as a special counsel to oversee the federal investigation into Russia's involvement in the US presidential election last year. That followed a report from The New York Times that former FBI Director James Comey had composed a memorandum recording the President's request to drop an investigation of Michael Flynn, the former national security adviser. Chinese shares ended lower as data showed home price growth in China's biggest cities softened in April due to stricter restrictions on property purchases. Further, Japanese shares hit 2-1/2-week lows as the yen's recent strength on fading expectations for continuous Fed rate-hike actions through 2017 and the allegations surrounding Trump's Russian ties overshadowed strong GDP data.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 3,090.14 | -14.30 | -0.46 |
Hang Seng | 25,136.52 | -157.11 | -0.62 |
Jakarta Composite | 5,645.45 | 29.96 | 0.53 |
KLSE Composite | 1,767.17 | -8.48 | -0.48 |
Nikkei 225 | 19,553.86 | -261.02 | -1.32 |
Straits Times | 3,221.66 | -2.44 | -0.08 |
KOSPI Composite | 2,286.82 | -6.26 | -0.27 |
Taiwan Weighted | 9,969.45 | -44.22 | -0.44 |