Most of the Asian equity benchmarks are trading lower in the early deals on Wednesday despite US stocks closing mostly higher overnight on upbeat corporate earnings results, while the US dollar fell to three-year lows. Concerns over trade wars weighed on investors’ sentiments. Besides, Japan’s Nikkei share average took a breather after rising to a fresh 26-year high in the previous session, as weakness in exporters such as Murata and Fanuc offset gains in real estate stocks. Among the other Asian markets, Malaysia, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Indonesia are also lower. Bucking the trend, South Korea, Singapore and Shanghai are higher.
Nikkei 225 dropped 198.05 points or 0.82% to 23,926.10, Taiwan Weighted declined 120.96 points or 1.07% to 11,132.15, Hang Seng slipped 92.9 points or 0.28% to 32,837.80, Jakarta Composite dipped 25.75 points or 0.39% to 6,609.59, and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI was down by 0.93 points or 0.05% to 1,837.11.
On the flip side, KOSPI Index added 0.59 points or 0.02% to 2,537.19, Straits Times gained 2.86 points or 0.08% to 3,594.94, and Shanghai Composite was up by 5.08 points or 0.14% to 3,551.59.
