Asian markets in red; Nikkei down 58pts

Asian markets have opened on a negative note this morning.

The Hang Seng has shed 178 points at 11,743. The Nikkei has slipped 58 points to 7,115.

The Taiwan Weighted index has dropped 47 points to 4,607. The Straits Times index has declined 28 points to 1,485, while the Seoul Composite index is up two points at 1,057.

The Shanghai Composite index is down 15 points at 2,178.