Asian markets are exhibiting mixed trend in the early deals on Monday, after geopolitical tensions in the Korean Peninsula ramped up in recent days and markets digested the release of China PMI data. Meanwhile, the Japanese market is modestly lower in choppy trading as a stronger yen and geopolitical tensions in the Korean Peninsula dampened investors’ sentiments. Among the other Asian markets, South Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan and Singapore are lower. Bucking the trend, Indonesia, Shanghai and Hong Kong are in positive territory.
Nikkei 225 declined 3.69 points or 0.02% to 19,956.15, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI dropped 0.96 points or 0.05% to 1,766.12, Straits Times slipped 7.76 points or 0.23% to 3,322.99, KOSPI Index contracted 5.96 points or 0.25% to 2,395.03, and Taiwan Weighted was down by 35.03 points or 0.34% to 10,388.02.
On the flip side, Hang Seng added 200.63 points or 0.74% to 27,180.02, Shanghai Composite gained 19 points or 0.58% to 3,272.24, and Jakarta Composite was up by 8.17 points or 0.14% to 5,839.20