Asian markets trade in the red

Markets across Asia were trading on a weak note led by losses in commodity shares and expectations of further monetary tightening in Beijing.

US markets were stung by dissapointing data from the services sector. The Institute for Supply Management reported that services index declined to 52.8 last month from 57.3 in March. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.7%, the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.5% and the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index also fell 0.7%.

In Asia Hang Seng dipped 0.2% as investors fretted over further rate hike in  China, financial and realty shares weighed. China's Shanghai Composite index also declined 0.2%. South Korea's Kospi Composite dipped 0.9%. However Singapore's Strait Times was trading marginally in the green, up 0.04% and Taiwan's weighted index climbed 0.8%.