Most of the Asian equity benchmarks are trading lower in the early deals on Monday amidst mixed cues from Wall Street on Friday, while investors are cautious after a spike in coronavirus cases across several markets in the region over the weekend have led to lockdowns and restrictions in some areas. Tokyo confirmed 386 fresh coronavirus cases on Sunday, a slight increase from the 376 reported a week before. Further, Malaysian stocks dropped to over seven-month low after Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said the national lockdown that was set to end on Monday would be extended till daily cases fell below 4,000.
Nikkei 225 down by 44.62 points or 0.15% to 29,021.56, KOSPI dropped 3.30 points or 0.1% to 3,299.54, Jakarta Composite dipped by 50.21 points or 0.83% to 5,972.19, Shanghai Composite lower by 4.60 points or 0.13% to 3,602.96, and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI slipped by 17.40 points or 1.12% to 1,542.28.
On the flip side, Straits Times rose 7.44 points or 0.24% to 3,129.04, Hang Seng higher by 405.76 points or 1.4% to 29,288.22, and Taiwan Weighted supported by 65.57 points or 0.37% to 17,568.56.