Asian markets ended mostly lower on Wednesday after British Prime Minister Theresa May lost voting on her second Brexit proposal in a parliamentary showdown. A ‘free vote’ will take place on March 13, on a no-deal Brexit. If that fails, a further vote on March 14, will decide whether to extend the Brexit deadline. Sentiment was also dented after Robert Lighthizer, the US trade representative, said that ‘major issues’ must still be resolved for a successful US-China trade deal. Chinese shares ended lower on uncertainty over the trade dispute with the United States. Further, Japanese shares ended down as the yen strengthened amid continuing global uncertainties and a report showed Japan's machinery orders fell in January at the fastest pace in four months. The total value of core machine orders in Japan dropped a seasonally adjusted 5.4 percent in January, missing expectations for a decline of 1.5 percent following the downwardly revised 0.3 percent fall in December.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 3,026.95 | -33.36 | -1.09 |
Hang Seng | 28,807.45 | -113.42 | -0.39 |
Jakarta Composite | 6,377.58 | 23.81 | 0.37 |
KLSE Composite | 1,678.24 | 6.96 | 0.42 |
Nikkei 225 | 21,290.24 | -213.45 | -0.99 |
Straits Times | 3,195.59 | -16.66 | -0.52 |
KOSPI Composite | 2,148.41 | -8.77 | -0.41 |
Taiwan Weighted | 10,373.32 | 29.99 | 0.29 |
