Asian equity benchmarks are trading in red on Friday, following the European Central Bank's monetary-policy decision, offsetting optimism about a aggressive rate reduction. Meanwhile, crude oil prices rose considerably. The Japanese stocks are in negative territory following weak overnight cues from Wall Street stocks and on profit taking after three straight session gains. Among the other Asian markets, Shanghai, Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Taiwan, South Korea and Malaysia are in negative territory.
Nikkei 225 down 122.46 points or 0.56% to 21,634.09, Straits Times dipped 28.65 points or 0.85% to 3,352.61, Hang Seng declined 127.26 points or 0.45% to 28,467.04, Shanghai decreased 4.76 points 0.16% to 2,932.60, Jakarta Composite dropped by 85.64 points or 1.34% to 6,315.73, Taiwan Weighted diminished 47.75 points or 0.44% to 10,893.66, KOSPI Index lost 12.57 points or 0.61% to 2,061.91, and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI declined 6.80 points or 0.41% to 1,649.78.
