Asian markets settle mostly lower on Tuesday
Japanese shares declined, tracking a weak lead from US technology stocks overnight
Asian markets settled mostly lower on Tuesday amid escalating tensions in the Middle East. Iran has firmly denied engaging in any direct or indirect negotiations with the United States since the conflict began on February 28, contradicting repeated claims from Washington that talks were progressing well and a resolution could be reached soon. Chinese shares fell, even after positive data showing manufacturing PMI rose to a one-year high of 50.4 and non-manufacturing PMI edged up to 50.1 that suggesting renewed growth across both sectors. Japanese shares declined, tracking a weak lead from US technology stocks overnight. Meanwhile, the February unemployment rate fell to 2.6%, better than the expected 2.7%, signalling a tight labour market that supports potential further monetary policy tightening by the Bank of Japan.
| Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
| Shanghai Composite | 3,891.86 | -31.43 | -0.80 |
| Hang Seng | 24,788.14 | 37.35 | 0.15 |
| Jakarta Composite | 7,048.22 | -43.45 | -0.61 |
| KLSE Composite | 1,690.36 | 2.46 | 0.15 |
| Nikkei 225 | 51,063.72 | -822.13 | -1.58 |
| Straits Times | 4,885.45 | -11.81 | -0.24 |
| KOSPI Composite | 5,052.46 | -224.84 | -4.26 |
| Taiwan Weighted | 31,722.99 | -795.17 | -2.45 |
