Most of the Asian equity benchmarks are trading lower in the early deals on Tuesday, following the weak cues overnight from Wall Street and as investors digested the impact of six Arab countries including Saudi Arabia having cut diplomatic ties with Qatar. Crude oil prices extended losses in Asian trades. Investors are also cautious ahead of the UK general election, the ECB meeting and former FBI director James Comey's congressional testimony - all due on Thursday. Meanwhile, Japan's Nikkei share average slumped as losses on Wall Street and a stronger yen sapped sentiment. Among the other Asian markets, Shanghai, Taiwan and Indonesia are also lower. On the flip side, Singapore, Malaysia, and Hong Kong are higher. The South Korean market is closed in observance of Memorial Day.
Nikkei 225 dropped 134.14 points or 0.67% to 20,036.68, Taiwan Weighted slipped 21.82 points or 0.21% to 10,205.02, Jakarta Composite declined 17.1 points or 0.3% to 5,731.14, and Shanghai Composite was down by 6.7 points or 0.22% to 3,084.95.
On the flip side, Straits Times added 1.04 points or 0.03% to 3,239.35, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI increased 1.52 points or 0.09% to 1,789.47, and Hang Seng was up by 90 points or 0.35% to 25,952.99.