All the Asian equity indices are trading lower in the early deals on Thursday following the weak lead overnight from Wall Street amid speculation that China, the largest buyer of US Treasuries, could slow or halt its purchases. Investors are also cautious as they await quarterly earnings results from some major Japanese companies later in the day. Meanwhile, Japan’s Nikkei share average edged lower hit by declines in automakers and electronic component makers as the strong yen soured investors’ appetite. China stocks fell with losses led by real estate and energy firms as investors took profits after a robust nine-session winning streak. A media report that China is considering reducing or halting purchases of US Treasuries did not appear to impact the share market.
Nikkei 225 dipped 115.22 points or 0.48% to 23,672.98, Hang Seng dropped 63.22 points or 0.2% to 31,010.50, Taiwan Weighted contracted 53.38 points or 0.49% to 10,777.71, KOSPI Index declined 9.93 points or 0.4% to 2,489.82, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI decreased 7.57 points or 0.42% to 1,815.35, Shanghai Composite crumbled 5.18 points or 0.15% to 3,416.65, Jakarta Composite slipped 4.36 points or 0.07% to 6,366.82, and Straits Times was down by 5.11 points or 0.15% to 3,515.34.