Most of the Asian markets are trading in the red terrain in the morning deals on Tuesday, tracking cues from Wall Street where stocks closed weak overnight following a disappointing report on US manufacturing activity in March. Worries about the situation in Ukraine and recent weak economic data from China dampened sentiments. Meanwhile, Japanese markets surged on reopening after a holiday and Chinese Shanghai Composite rose on expectations the city will accelerate reforms of state-owned enterprises to support growth. Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and South Korea are trading weak, while Shanghai and Taiwan are trading modestly higher.
Hang Seng declined 25.81 points or 0.12% to 21,820.64, Jakarta Composite dipped by 19.66 points or 0.42% to 4,700.76, KLSE Composite decreased 3.67 points or 0.20% to 1,830.18, Straits Times contracted by 9.10 points or 0.29% to 3,102.73 and KOSPI Composite was down by 1.26 points or 0.06% to 1,944.29.
On the flip side, Shanghai Composite soared 8.97 points or 0.43% to 2,075.25, Nikkei 225 spurted by 11.71 points or 0.08% to 14,487.01 and Taiwan Weighted was up by 69.11 points or 0.80% to 8,674.49.