Asian markets in red; Nikkei down 73pts

The Hang Seng is up 18 points at 21,193. The Nikkei has slipped 73 points to 12,681.

The Taiwan Weighted index has shed 61 points at 6,773. The Straits Times index is up five points at 2,836, and the Seoul Composite index has declined 13 points to 1,496.

The Shanghai Composite index is down 40 points at 2,739.