Most of the Asian markets are trading lower in early deals on Monday as concerns over trade tensions moved to the forefront at the meeting this weekend of the Group of 20 industrial nations. Meanwhile, the Japanese market is notably lower following the negative lead from Wall Street and as the yen strengthened amid speculation that the Bank of Japan is actively discussing changes to its stimulus policy. Gains by banks were more than offset by weakness in exporters' shares. Among the other Asian markets, Malaysia, South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore are lower. Bucking the trend, Hong Kong, Indonesia, and Shanghai are higher.
Nikkei 225 dropped 333.79 points or 1.49% to 22,364.09, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI dipped 0.47 points or 0.03% to 1,754.20, KOSPI Index contracted 10.82 points or 0.47% to 2,278.37, Taiwan Weighted slipped 26.06 points or 0.24% to 10,906.05 and Straits Times down by 14.18 points or 0.43% to 3,283.65.
On the flip side, Hang Seng added 41.74 points or 0.15% to 28,266.22, Jakarta Composite gained 38.25 points or 0.65% to 5,911.03, and Shanghai Composite up by 10.56 points or 0.37% to 2,839.83.
