Asian markets traded mostly lower in early deals on Tuesday, as rising crude oil prices fuelled fresh inflation woes across regional markets. Ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and stalled peace discussions kept energy costs elevated, dulling investor sentiments. Profit-taking in major artificial intelligence and technology shares also added downward pressure on local indices. Japan’s Nikkei plunged followed by surging Japanese bond yields, and on fiscal concerns over a proposed food tax cut.
Nikkei 225 tumbled by 1,495.25 points or 2.16% to 67,725.00, Straits Times dipped by 69.50 points or 1.20% to 5,698.96, Hang Seng declined by 197.23 points or 0.77% to 25,256.00, KOSPI Index narrowed by 63.67 points or 0.91% to 6,914.27, Taiwan weighted plunged by 487.50 points or 1.06% to 45,369.77 and Shanghai Composite narrowed by 17.80 points or 0.45% to 3,964.85,
On the flip side, Jakarta Composite rose by 80.68 points or 1.26% to 6,482.57 and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI index up by 2.71 points or 0.16% to 1,728.60.
