Asian equity markets ended mostly lower on Tuesday and safe heaven assets climbed after North Korea launched a ballistic missile over Japan, reigniting geopolitical worries. The missile flew over the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido and landed in the sea. Japanese shares ended lower as the yen surged to four-month highs against the dollar and data on household spending and employment painted a mixed picture of the economy. While household spending unexpectedly fell in July, the jobless rate held steady at a seasonally adjusted 2.8 percent in the month. Though, Chinese shares shrugged off weak regional cues to end marginally higher as investors looked ahead to the latest readings on the country's manufacturing and service sectors.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 3,365.23 | 2.57 | 0.08 |
Hang Seng | 27,765.01 | -98.28 | -0.35 |
Jakarta Composite | 5,888.21 | -15.13 | -0.26 |
KLSE Composite | 1,761.14 | -8.35 | -0.47 |
Nikkei 225 | 19,362.55 | -87.35 | -0.45 |
Straits Times | 3,249.34 | -18.28 | -0.56 |
KOSPI Composite | 2,364.74 | -5.56 | -0.23 |
Taiwan Weighted | 10,496.57 | -29.41 | -0.28 |