Asian markets ended mostly lower on Friday, driven by lingering worries over the Delta coronavirus variant and prospects of an early stimulus tapering by the US Federal Reserve. Chinese shares ended lower due to heavy sell off in tech stocks as regulatory uncertainty surrounding the sector lingers. While the People's Bank of China (PBoC) left its benchmark lending rate unchanged as widely expected. China’s one-year loan prime rate (LPR) and five-year LPR were both left unchanged at 3.85% and 4.65%, respectively, on Friday. Japanese shares settled lower, dragged down by automakers and their related sectors after Toyota Motor said it would slash global production for September by 40 percent due to chip crisis.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 3,427.33 | -38.22 | -1.10 |
Hang Seng | 24,849.72 | -466.61 | -1.84 |
Jakarta Composite | 6,030.77 | 38.45 | 0.64 |
KLSE Composite | 1,518.03 | 3.08 | 0.20 |
Nikkei 225 | 27,013.25 | -267.92 | -0.98 |
Straits Times | 3,102.75 | 15.78 | 0.51 |
KOSPI Composite | 3,060.51 | -37.32 | -1.20 |
Taiwan Weighted | 16,341.94 | -33.46 | -0.20 |
