Most of the Asian equity indices are trading down in the early deals on Thursday, following the weak cues overnight from Wall Street as mounting concerns over trade tensions and disappointing US retail sales data weighed on investors’ sentiments. However, Japan’s Nikkei share average is higher despite the machinery makers underperformed hit by worries that global trade tensions could hurt demand after US President Donald Trump sought to impose fresh tariffs on China. Among the other Asian markets, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan and Shanghai are lower. Bucking the trend, South Korea and Hong Kong are higher.
Jakarta Composite slipped 32.02 points or 0.5% to 6,350.60, Straits Times dropped 20.48 points or 0.58% to 3,518.93, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI contracted 4.72 points or 0.25% to 1,852.34, Taiwan Weighted decline 2.8 points or 0.03% to 11,036.00, and Shanghai Composite down by 1.3 points or 0.04% to 3,290.08.
On the flip side, Nikkei 225 added 36.25 points or 0.17% to 21,813.54, KOSPI Index gained 3.99 points or 0.16% to 2,490.07, and Hang Seng up by 38.13 points or 0.12% to 31,473.14.
