Asian equity benchmarks are trading lower on Friday on account of worries on political uncertainty in the US following the release of a formal impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump. Market sentiments also weighed following mixed reports on the US-China trade front. Japan's Nikkei was trading in red despite a weaker yen. In addition, shares of several major companies on the Topix index are trading ex-dividend. Among the other Asian markets, Hong Kong, South Korea, Indonesia, Singapore, Taiwan, Shanghai, and Malaysia are in negative trend.
Nikkei 225 down 289.13 points 1.31% to 21,759.11, Straits Times narrowed 8.55 points or 0.27% to 3,117.26, Hang Seng decreased 78.65 points or 0.30% to 25,963.28, Taiwan Weighted diminished 20.41 points or 0.19% to 10,851.58, KOSPI Index dipped 25.12 points or 1.21% to 2,049.40, Jakarta Composite reduced by 28.16 points or 0.45% to 6,202.17, Shanghai inch down 0.11 points 0.02% to 2,928.97, and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI dropped 6.87 points or 0.43% to 1,586.13.
