Asian markets are trading mostly in red in early deals on Friday, following the mixed cues overnight from Wall Street amid rising trade tensions between the US and China as well as the US introduction of new sanctions on Russia. Meanwhile, Japan’s Nikkei fell as semiconductor-related shares tumbled after Morgan Stanley downgraded its view on the US chip sector, which offset any boost from Japan’s better-than-expected second quarter economic growth. Among the other Asian markets, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, and Shanghai are lower. Bucking the trend, Indonesia, and Malaysia are in positive territory.
Nikkei 225 declined 160.56 points or 0.72% to 22,437.83, Hang Seng dropped 132.92 points or 0.47% to 28,474.38, KOSPI Index dipped 16.52 points or 0.72% to 2,287.19, Taiwan Weighted slipped 33.02 points or 0.30% to 10,995.05, Straits Times contracted 40.17 points or 1.22% to 3,286.57, and Shanghai Composite down by 3.85 points or 0.14% to 2,790.53.
On the flip side, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI added 3.99 points 0.22% to 1,808.94, and Jakarta Composite up by 28.14 points or 0.46% to 6,093.40.
