Asian market indices are exhibiting a mixed trend in early deals on Thursday, as White House statements on trade left investors divided on whether the administration was interested in soothing tensions with China. Meanwhile, Japanese stocks dropped to near one-month lows, taking their cue from weakness on Wall Street overnight as the simmering trade row between the United States and China hurt investors’ risk appetites. Among the other Asian markets, Taiwan, South Korea and Indonesia are lower. Bucking the trend, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore and Malaysia are in positive territory.
Nikkei 225 declined 13.91 points or 0.06% to 22,257.86, Taiwan Weighted slipped 18.77 points or 0.18% to 10,682.26, KOSPI Index dipped 20.06 points or 0.86% to 2,321.97, and Jakarta Composite down by 93.66 points or 1.64% to 5,693.89.
On the flip side, Hang Seng added 141.84 points or 0.50% to 28,498.10, Shanghai Composite spurt 6.71 points or 0.24% to 2,819.89, Straits Times gained 3.39 points or 0.10% to 3,258.16, and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI up by 0.43 points or 0.03% to 1,666.51
