Most of the Asian equity benchmarks are trading lower in early deals on Friday with investors in a risk-averse mood as the ongoing political turmoil in Washington raised doubts about President Donald Trump's ability to push through his economic agenda. Investors also digested news of a terror attack in the Spanish city of Barcelona that killed at least 13 people and injured more than 100 others. Meanwhile, Japan's Nikkei share average skidded to three-month lows, pressured by losses on Wall Street and a weaker dollar as doubts grow over whether President Donald Trump will be able to push through policies to boost US economic growth. Among the other Asian markets, South Korea, Singapore, Shanghai, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Taiwan are lower. Bucking the trend, Indonesia is higher.
Nikkei 225 declined 213.78 points or 1.09% to 19,488.85, Hang Seng dropped 194.53 points or 0.71% to 27,149.69, Taiwan Weighted slipped 56.28 points or 0.54% to 10,313.09, Shanghai Composite decreased 6.42 points or 0.2% to 3,262.01, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI contracted 2.91 points or 0.16% to 1,773.40, KOSPI Index tumbled 2.09 points or 0.09% to 2,359.58, and Straits Times was down by 5.34 points or 0.16% to 3,263.54.
On the flip side, Jakarta Composite was up by 2.94 points or 0.05% to 5,894.89.