Asian markets trade mostly lower in the early deals on Thursday

All the Asian equity benchmarks barring KLSE Composite are trading lower in the early deals on Thursday, with investors largely refraining from making significant moves ahead of the European Central Bank's rate decision due later in the day. On the regional front, the Japanese stock market declined with investors choosing to tread cautiously ahead of the European Central Bank's rate decision. The yen's recovery too contributed to the market's decline. Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and Taiwan are down marginally, while South Korea is trading notably lower. Shanghai Composite slipped 0.80 points or 0.04% to 2,024.04, Hang Seng dropped by 53.40 points or 0.23% to 23,098.31, Jakarta Composite declined 16.67 points or 0.34% to 4,915.89, Nikkei 225 tumbled by 39.37 points or 0.26% to 15,028.59,  Straits Times declined 7.02 points or 0.21% to 3,273.15,  Seoul Composite dipped 19.49 points or 0.97% to 1,989.07 and Taiwan Weighted was down by 6.17 points or 9,113.79. On the flip side, KLSE Composite was up by 2.16 points or 0.12% to 1,867.36.