Asian equity indices are exhibiting mixed trend in the early deals on Monday as traders assessed the impact of the U.S.-led strikes on Syria and the likelihood of a direct confrontation with Russia. The Japanese market pared early gains and is modestly higher as fears of a wider conflict between the US and Russia over Syria eased. Meanwhile, the safe-haven yen strengthened as polls showed waning support for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government. Among the other Asian markets, Indonesia, Malaysia and South Korea are trading higher. Bucking the trend, Shanghai, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan are all lower.
Nikkei 225 added 56.68 points or 0.26% to 21,835.42, Jakarta Composite gained 28.78 points or 0.46% to 6,299.11, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI spurt 3.53 points or 0.19% to 1,872.00, and KOSPI Index up by 0.56 points or 0.02% to 2,455.63.
On the flip side, Hang Seng declined 452.45 points or 1.47% to 30,355.93, Shanghai Composite slipped 47.4 points or 1.5% to 3,111.65, Taiwan Weighted dropped 2.9 points or 0.03% to 10,962.49, and Straits Times down by 11.78 points or 0.34% to 3,489.55.
