Asian markets weak in early trades

Asian markets were subdued in early trades following a marginal negative close on the Wall Street.

The Hang Seng had dropped 209 points to 20,785. The Nikkei slipped 32 points to 17,467, and the Shanghai Composite index shed 12 points to 4036.

The Straits Times index declined 20 points to 3505, and the Seoul Composite index was down eight points at 1607.

The Taiwan Weighted index, however, was up six points at 8044.