Asian markets traded mostly lower in early deals on Monday, saddled by intensifying US-Iran geopolitical frictions, jitters over inflation spike with the surge in global crude oil prices, and on hawkish central bank monetary policies. South Korea’s KOSPI plunged due to massive tech selloff in dominant giants Samsung and SK Hynix. Forced liquidations of over-leveraged retail positions, also pressured the index. Stock market of Taiwan is closed for Teacher’s Day.
Nikkei down by 46.20 points or 0.07% to 66,318.00, KOSPI Index plunged by 145.71 points or 2.06% to 6,935.21, Jakarta Composite declined by 56.64 points or 0.91% to 6,185.25, Shanghai Composite tumbled by 67.55 points or 1.74% to 3,820.82 and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI index narrowed by 0.15 points or 0.01% to 1,671.47
On the flipside Straits Times up by 35.24 points or 0.62% to 5,746.36, and Hang Seng rose by 121.91 points or 0.49% to 24,632.00.
