Asian markets close on a sedate note

Some Asian markets have closed with a slightly positive bias and others have ended marginally in negative territory.

The Hang Seng ended at 20,955, down 57.9 points, while the Nikkei closed at 10,133, up 33 points or 0.33%.

The Shanghai shut shop at 2,779, up 24 points or 0.9% and Taiwan ended at 7,509, up 79 points or 1%. On the other hand, Straits Times closed at 2,654, down 8.5% and Seoul closed at 1,673, down 16 points or 1%.