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Asian markets trade mostly lower in early deals on Friday
Sep-25-2026
Asian markets traded mostly lower in early deals on Friday, as the resilient US economic data intensified fears about persistent inflation and a prolonged period of elevated interest rates. Overnight negative trends on Wall Street followed by a sharp jump in treasury yield notes to multi-year highs, rising crude oil rates and lingering Middle East uncertainties also dulled investor sentiments. Hang Seng plunged after China started data security checks on top artificial intelligence labs, and on a disappointing meeting between Trump and Xi. Meanwhile, South Kore’s KOSPI is closed for Chuseok - Thanksgiving Day, and China's Shanghai Composite & Taiwan’s Taiwan Weighted are closed for Mid-Autumn Festival.

Hang Seng tumbled by 480.13 points or 1.98% to 24,281.00, Jakarta Composite declined by 34.88 points or 0.55% to 6,263.73, and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI index down by 1.86 points or 0.11% to 1,670.45

On the flip side, Nikkei surged by 857.01 points or 1.31% to 66,371.00, and Straits Times up by 4.95 points or 0.09% to 5,688.32.

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