Asian markets are exhibiting mixed trend in the early deals on Tuesday with China down on disappointing official PMI figures and Japan off as the Bank of Japan was predictably steady on stimulus efforts and the economic outlook. The Japanese market is declining with the overnight weak lead from Wall Street and a stronger yen weighing on investors’ sentiments. Investors are also cautious as they await the Bank of Japan's monetary policy decision due later in the day. Among the other Asian markets, South Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan are also higher. Bucking the trend, Shanghai and Hong Kong are lower.
FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI added 1.54 points or 0.09% to 1,749.89, KOSPI Index gained 18.16 points or 0.73% to 2,520.09, Straits Times rose 1.87 points or 0.06% to 3,377.84, Jakarta Composite increased 31.88 points or 0.53% to 6,005.96, and Taiwan Weighted was up by 48.84 points or 0.45% to 10,805.71.
On the flip side, Nikkei 225 dropped 42.27 points or 0.19% to 21,969.40, Hang Seng slipped 21.92 points or 0.08% to 28,314.27, and Shanghai Composite was down by 8.56 points or 0.25% to 3,381.78.