Asian equity benchmarks are trading mostly lower in the early deals on Monday with sharp losses after the sell-off on Wall Street Friday as rising bond yields and the prospects of higher interest rates worried investors. The closely watched US jobs report for January showing stronger than expected job growth and a jump in wages bolstered expectations the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates in March. Japan’s Nikkei share average tumbled more than 2 percent to a 1-1/2-month low, pressured by sharp losses in US markets triggered by rising bond yields and prospects for stronger inflation.
Nikkei 225 contracted 567.83 points or 2.44% to 22,706.70, Hang Seng dipped 578.99 points or 1.78% to 32,022.79, Taiwan Weighted dropped 200.25 points or 1.8% to 10,925.98, KOSPI Index decreased 32.19 points or 1.27% to 2,493.20, Jakarta Composite slipped 28.01 points or 0.42% to 6,600.81, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI declined 17.84 points or 0.95% to 1,852.64, Shanghai Composite crumbled 6.18 points or 0.18% to 3,455.90, and Straits Times was down by 48.45 points or 1.37% to 3,481.37.
