Asian markets trade lower in early deals on Wednesday

Asian equity benchmarks are trading down in the early deals on Wednesday, as worries about global economic growth continued to weigh on investor sentiment. Concerns about the health of European banks and the volatility in crude oil prices have increased risk aversion. Investors are treading cautiously as they look ahead to remarks by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, who is scheduled to testify before the House Financial Services Committee later in the day. Yellen will be grilled on Capitol Hill about the condition of the US economy and outlook for interest rates. Meanwhile, shares in Japan stumbled amid volatility in oil market and lackluster cues overnight from Wall Street. Further, the stronger yen too weighed on exporters' stocks. Among the other Asian markets, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia are in negative territory and the markets in South Korea, Taiwan, China and Hong Kong remain closed for the Lunar New Year holiday.

Nikkei 225 dropped 550.80 points or 3.42% to 15,534.64, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI declined 12.12 points or 0.73% to 1,650.34, Jakarta Composite decreased 24.67 points or 0.52% to 4,743.95, and Straits Times was down by 55.67 points or 2.12% to 2,567.54.