Most of the Asian equity benchmarks are trading in red in the early deals on Tuesday following a lackluster session on Wall Street that saw major indexes close just above the flat line. Investors also digested the release of a slew of Chinese economic data points. Though, Japan’s Nikkei share average edged up in choppy trade, with semiconductor equipment makers attracting buyers, while Mizuho Financial Group fell on dismal earnings. Among the other Asian markets, Shanghai, South Korea, Singapore, Indonesia, Taiwan, and Malaysia are edging lower. Bucking the trend, Hong Kong is higher.
Shanghai Composite dropped 15.42 points or 0.45% to 3,432.41, Taiwan Weighted slipped 11.31 points or 0.11% to 10,672.61, KOSPI Index contracted 5.94 points or 0.23% to 2,524.41, Jakarta Composite declined 1.78 points or 0.03% to 6,019.68, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI decreased 1.52 points or 0.09% to 1,735.97, and Straits Times was down by 18.39 points or 0.54% to 3,400.74.
On the flip side, Nikkei 225 gained 87.37 points or 0.39% to 22,468.36, and Hang Seng was up by 15.99 points or 0.05% to 29,198.17.