Asian equity markets ended mostly lower as investors remained nervous over whether the US Federal Reserve might soon taper off the stimulus programme that has helped send Wall Street soaring. However, Japan's Nikkei outshined its Asian peers and closed with strong gains, after earlier session’s massive fall as exporters took a hit from the dollar's fall against the yen. Hong Kong markets went home with red mark as investors took profit on outperformers. China’s stocks ended lower, paring the benchmark index’s biggest monthly gain this year, ahead of economic data over the weekend.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 2,300.59 | -17.15 | -0.74 |
Hang Seng | 22,392.16 | -92.15 | -0.41 |
Jakarta Composite | 5,068.63 | -61.02 | -1.19 |
KLSE Composite | 1,769.22 | -5.70 | -0.32 |
Nikkei 225 | 13,774.54 | 185.51 | 1.37 |
Straits Times | 3,311.37 | -24.64 | -0.74 |
KOSPI Composite | 2,001.05 | 0.95 | 0.05 |
Taiwan Weighted | 8,254.80 | 11.51 | 0.14 |
