Asian Equities Mostly Lower, Foreign Equity Inflows Lose Momentum

Regional Asian Equities have opened mostly lower to start the week, with Japan being the exception after being out on Friday.

• Japan equities are higher today, continuing their stellar run of late however they are off their highs from this morning. Trading houses are leading the gains today after Berkshire Hathaway reported an unrealized gain in Japan's five largest trading houses of $8B, while Warren Buffet mentioned Japan's Shareholder friendly policies are "superior" to those in the US. The Nikkei 225 made new all-time highs last week and is now nearing the 40,000 mark, up 0.40% today, while the Topix is up 0.65%.
• Taiwan Equities are slightly higher, with Electronic Parts sector leading the way higher, Largan Precision contributed the most to gains up 3.00%. Foreign Equity inflows are positive but momentum is starting to slow; the 5-day average is $113m, down from $620m a week earlier, while the 20-day average is $458m. The Taiex is up 0.22%
• South Korean Equities are lower today due to the "Value Up" announcement disappointing investors with a lack of details and enforcement measures released. The KOSPI was down as much as 1.4% earlier but has recovered somewhat to trade just 0.47% lower for the day. Similar to Taiwan equity flow, momentum is slowly diminishing; the 5-day average is now $148m vs $305m a week ago, while the 20-day average hovers around $300m.
• Australian equities are slightly higher today, with gains in the financial sector being offset by weakness in metal and mining names, while energy names are the worst performers for the day, the ASX closed up 0.12%
• Elsewhere in SEA, NZ equities are down 0.08%, Indonesian equity are 0.18% after two days of foreign equity outflows, while Singapore equities are down 0.80%