Most Asian markets trade lower in early deals on Wednesday

21 Aug 2013 Evaluate

Most of the Asian equity indices were trading in the red in Wednesday’s morning deals as investors remained cautious ahead of the release of US Federal Reserve minutes that may provide some clues about the future of the bank's stimulus programme. Back on the regional turf, reports that Japanese government may raise the severity of the latest leak at Fukushima to a level 3 event, or a serious radiation incident, sent the Japanese Nikkei lower by over half a percent. Meanwhile, Bank of Japan’s Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said that he would not hesitate to expand the bank's already massive asset buying campaign if the economic outlook darkened.

Hang Seng declined 245.36 points or 1.12% to 21,724.93, KLSE Composite slipped 0.74 points or 0.04% to 1,744.68, Nikkei 225 dropped 73.57 points or 0.55% to 13,322.81, Straits Times shed 10.05 points or 0.32% to 3,118.70 and Seoul Composite was down by 17.97 points or 0.95% to 1,869.88. 

On the flip side, Shanghai Composite rose 1.67 points or 0.08% to 2,074.27 and Jakarta Composite was up by 31.37 points or 0.75% to 4,206.35. 

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