Asian markets trade mostly lower on Ukrainian worries

All the Asian equity indices barring Jakarta Composite are trading lower in the early deals on Wednesday, tracking cues from Wall Street where stocks declined overnight amid worries about Ukraine and amid mounting concern that China’s economy is slowing. The Japanese market dropped with investors indulging across the board heavy selling. Further, the yen held gains against the dollar as the market reopened following a two-day holiday. In the economy news, an index monitoring the services sectors in Japan moved into contraction in April, showing a score of 46.4. That's down from 52.2 in March. A reading above 50 means expansion in a sector, while a score below 50 signals contraction. Chinese stocks fell, led by consumer companies and property developers, after a private services index declined and concern mounted that home sales are slowing. Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea are notably lower. Malaysia is down marginally, while Indonesia is slightly higher. Shanghai Composite dropped 7.66 points or 0.38% to 2,020.38, Hang Seng slipped 237.96 points or 1.08% to 21,738.37, KLSE Composite contracted by 0.78 points or 0.04% to 1,859.65, Nikkei 225 tumbled by 338.59 points or 2.34% to 14,118.92, Straits Times declined 14.82 points or 0.46% to 3,230.74, Seoul Composite dipped by 18.60 points or 0.95% to 1,940.84 and Taiwan Weighted was down by 24.31 points or 0.27% to 8,888.08. On the flip side, Jakarta Composite was up by 6.32 points or 0.13% to 4,840.79.