Most of the Asian equity benchmarks are trading lower in the early deals on Tuesday amid continuing uncertainty over trade tensions between China and the United States. Japanese stocks pulled back from 3-1-/2-month highs, though bank shares staged a rally on hopes of strong earnings for the sector. Meanwhile, Chinese stocks also edged lower after data showed that China’s retail sales and fixed asset investment surged, but missed expectations. While, industrial output in April beat expectations. Among the other Asian markets, Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia, and Singapore are lower. Bucking the trend, Malaysia is higher.
Nikkei 225 dropped 32.12 points or 0.14% to 22,833.74, Hang Seng slipped 284.76 points or 0.9% to 31,256.32, KOSPI Index declined 15.8 points or 0.64% to 2,460.31, Shanghai Composite contracted 6.87 points or 0.22% to 3,167.16, Taiwan Weighted declined 40.39 points or 0.37% to 10,912.00, Jakarta Composite decreased 86.51 points or 1.45% to 5,860.65, and Straits Times down by 10.21 points or 0.29% to 3,552.25.
On the flip side, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI up by 6.67 points or 0.36% to 1,857.09.
