Asian equity benchmarks are trading mixed on Friday, with lingering worries about receding trade war and on worries about a possible recession. Market sentiments subdued with cautious outlook ahead to the key central bank meetings, including the US Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan, later this week. Japan's Nikkei is trading in negative territory with the weak cues from Wall Street. Among the other Asian markets, Singapore, South Korea, and Malaysia are in negative territory. Bucking the trend, Taiwan, Indonesia Shanghai, and Hong Kong are trading higher.
Nikkei 225 down 15.43 points or 0.08% to 20,390.22, Straits Times dipped 23.25 points or 0.74% to 3,102.84, KOSPI Index decreased 15.68 points or 0.81% to 1,922.69, and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI down 5.98 points or 0.37% to 1,594.31.
On the flip side, Hang Seng rose 174.27 points or 0.68% to 25,669.73, Taiwan Weighted gained 122.12 points or 1.18% to 10,449.25, Jakarta Composite up by 21.22 points or 0.34% to 6,278.81, and Shanghai added 19.05 points 0.68% to 2,834.85.
