Asian markets settled mostly lower on Wednesday, tracking weakness in the Wall Street performance overnight due to increasing likelihood of a corporate tax rate hike from the current 21% to 26.5%. Chinese shares ended lower due to raised concerns over China’s economic recovery following weak factory and retail activity data, while fears over the rapid spread of the Delta strain of Covid-19 in the region also weighed on sentiment. China's Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development has said major banks that Chinese property giant Evergrande Group won’t be able to pay loan interest due September 20, underlining the broadening impact of the property developer’s liquidity crisis. Further, Japanese shares declined on profit booking after a strong rally over the last two weeks.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 3,656.22 | -6.38 | -0.17 |
Hang Seng | 25,033.21 | -469.02 | -1.84 |
Jakarta Composite | 6,110.23 | -18.87 | -0.31 |
KLSE Composite | 1,555.26 | -0.25 | -0.02 |
Nikkei 225 | 30,511.71 | -158.39 | -0.52 |
Straits Times | 3,058.61 | -21.76 | -0.71 |
KOSPI Composite | 3,153.40 | 4.57 | 0.15 |
Taiwan Weighted | 17,354.00 | -80.90 | -0.46 |
