Asian equity markets are trading in red terrain in early deals on Friday with most of the markets down with sharp losses, following another day of steep fall on Wall Street. Worries about rising U.S. bond yields and higher interest rates have caused stocks to tumble from record highs over the past week. The Japanese stock market edged sharply lower as the yen strengthened again. On the economic front, the Bank of Japan said the M2 money stock in Japan was up 3.4 percent on year in January, coming in at 992.0 trillion yen. That follows the 3.6 percent jump in December. The M3 money stock advanced an annual 2.9 percent to 1,321.1 trillion yen, slowing from the 3.1 percent jump in the previous month.
Hang Seng tumbled 1165.41 points or 3.83% to 29,285.86, Nikkei 225 fell 705.1 points or 3.22% to 21,185.76, Taiwan Weighted decreased 194.43 points or 1.85% to 10,334.09, Shanghai Composite crumbled 147.56 points or 4.52% to 3,114.49, Jakarta Composite dropped 54.25 points or 0.83% to 6,490.39, KOSPI Index shed 42.86 points or 1.78% to 2,364.76 and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI down by 21.59 points or 1.17% to 1,817.85.
