Most of the Asian equity indices are trading lower in the early deals on Thursday as tensions over the conflict in Syria flared and minutes of the March 20-21 Federal Open Market Committee meeting showed participants saw a slightly faster pace of tightening. Traders also await cues from the US earnings season that kicks off in earnest with reports from four big banks on Friday. Meanwhile, Japan’s Nikkei share average fell after Wall Street weakened on worries about possible US military action against Syria, while the retail sector stocks were driven by earnings news. Though, South Korea's KOSPI average was gaining as the Bank of Korea kept interest rates steady, as widely expected, citing muted inflation and an escalating trade dispute between the US and China. Among the other Asian markets, Shanghai, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, and Taiwan are trading in negative territory.
Nikkei 225 declined 43.07 points or 0.2% to 21,644.03, Shanghai Composite dipped 19.11 points or 0.6% to 3,188.97, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI slipped 2.34 points or 0.13% to 1,867.55, Straits Times dropped 7.62 points or 0.22% to 3,472.14, Hang Seng contracted 69.86 points or 0.23% to 30,827.85, Jakarta Composite decreased 54.33 points or 0.85% to 6,306.60, and Taiwan Weighted down by 44.17 points or 0.4% to 10,929.85.
On the flip side, KOSPI Index up by 5.91 points or 0.24% to 2,450.13.
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