Asian markets traded mostly lower in early deals on Monday, pressured by risk aversion amidst semiconductor weakness, and woes over elevated tech valuations. Sluggish manufacturing numbers from China overshadowed fresh policy support signals dulling investor sentiment. South Korea’s KOSPI plunged due to sharp drops in index heavyweights Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, which faced intense pressure from cascading retail margin calls.
Nikkei tumble by 739.02 points or 1.15% to 63,623.00, Straits Times dipped by 15.62 points or 0.28% to 5,612.88, KOSPI Index fell by 357.93 points or 5.43% to 6,237.52, Jakarta Composite down by 1.84 points or 0.03% to 6,234.29, Shanghai Composite narrowed by 26.44 points or 0.69% to 3,806.82 and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI index dipped by 2.08 points or 0.12% to 1,722.82.
On the flip side, Hang Seng up by 38.57 points or 0.15% to 25,923.00, and Taiwan weighted rose by 355.23 points or 0.82% to 43,474.98.
