Asian markets trade lower in early deals on Tuesday

All the Asian equity markets were trading under the water in early deals on Tuesday as investors remained concerned about the debate on the US fiscal position, after the Senate was seen considering a measure to cut off funding for Obama’s healthcare law. The Japanese market opened sharply lower with investors pressing sales, tracking a weak lead from Wall Street. A stronger yen too contributed to the weak start. Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia and South Korea are all trading notably lower, while Singapore and Taiwan are trading flat.

Shanghai Composite declined 21.47 points or 0.97% to 2,199.57, Hang Seng dropped 223.49 points or 0.96% to 23,148.05, Jakarta Composite shed 43.82 points or 0.96% to 4,519.04, KLSE Composite dipped 6.55 points or 0.36% to 1,789.81, Nikkei 225 contracted 77.70 points or 0.53% to 14,664.72, Straits Times slipped 3.81 points or 0.12% to 3,210.44, Seoul Composite decreased 13.47 points or 0.67% to 1,995.94 and Taiwan Weighted was down by 2.56 points or 0.03% to 8,290.27.