Asian markets closed mostly lower on Monday as fears of a global trade war persisted and the prospect of a hung Parliament in Italy looked increasingly likely. Japanese shares hit a near five-month low as the safe-haven yen strengthened amid fears that a global trade war could break out hurt steelmakers, automakers and shipping companies. Chinese shares ended largely unchanged as Chinese leaders headed into an annual parliament meeting and a survey showed activity in China's services sector cooled slightly last month. The Caixin services PMI dropped to 54.2 from 54.7 in January. Meanwhile, China maintained its growth target for 2018, despite the economy surpassing the goal last year, as the government aims to contain corporate debt and rein in pollution. Premier Li Keqiang set the growth target at 'around 6.5 percent' for 2018. This was unchanged from the last year's target.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 3,256.93 | 2.40 | 0.07 |
Hang Seng | 29,886.39 | -697.06 | -2.28 |
Jakarta Composite | 6,550.59 | -31.72 | -0.48 |
KLSE Composite | 1,842.62 | -13.45 | -0.72 |
Nikkei 225 | 21,042.09 | -139.55 | -0.66 |
Straits Times | 3,438.61 | -40.59 | -1.17 |
KOSPI Composite | 2,375.06 | -27.10 | -1.13 |
Taiwan Weighted | 10,642.90 | -55.27 | -0.52 |
