Asian equity markets ended mostly lower on Tuesday amid continued uncertainty over trade after US President Donald Trump expressed optimism about trade talks with China but claimed past negotiations have been one-sided in favor of Beijing, for so many years. A raft of mixed economic data from China also kept investors nervous. Japanese shares ended modestly lower as investors opted to book some profits following three consecutive sessions of gains. However, Chinese shares ended higher as optimism towards MSCI inclusion of 234 China-listed shares helped investors shrug off renewed trade tensions and mixed economic readings. Chinese industrial output grew 7.0 percent year-on-year in April, the National Bureau of Statistics said. That topped expectations for an increase of 6.4 percent and was up from 6.0 percent in March.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 3,192.12 | 18.09 | 0.57 |
Hang Seng | 31,152.03 | -389.05 | -1.23 |
Jakarta Composite | 5,838.12 | -109.04 | -1.83 |
KLSE Composite | 1,848.20 | -2.22 | -0.12 |
Nikkei 225 | 22,818.02 | -47.84 | -0.21 |
Straits Times | 3,540.23 | -22.23 | -0.62 |
KOSPI Composite | 2,458.54 | -17.57 | -0.71 |
Taiwan Weighted | 10,874.73 | -77.66 | -0.71 |
