Asian stocks open mostly lower on Brexit uncertainty

The major Asian stocks indices opened on a mixed note but mostly negative today, to follow their US counterparts at Wall Street, as the Japanese stocks were seen mixed, while the Chinese stocks, the Australian and New Zealand stocks in addition to Hong Kong's Hang Seng index and the South Korean Kospi fell, after the British parliament voted yesterday against Prime Minister Boris Johnson's timetable for his Brexit deal with the EU.

Keeping in mind that the British House of Commons on Saturday approved MP Oliver Letwin amendment by 322 votes to 306, which states that in case Johnson's draft deal is not formally ratified, it automatically activate the recent legislation that was already passed by the parliament, in which the prime minister is obligated to request another extension from the EU postponed by three months until the end of next January.

The Japanese stocks saw mixed performance during the sessions today, as the Topix index rose by 0.10% or 1.55 points to 1,630.15, but the Nikkei 225 index fell by 0.04% or 8.34 points to 22,540.56.

While the Chinese stocks fell, as the CSI 300 index fell by 0.38% or 14.66 points to 3,881.22, and the Shanghai Composite index fell by 0.36% or 10.51 points to 2,943.87.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell by 0.96% or 256.54 points to 26,529.66, and the South Korean Kospi fell by 0.54% or 11.22 points to 2,077.64.

To New Zealand's NZX 50, which shed 2.14% or 237.01 points to 10,853.38, and the Australian S&P/ASX 200 fell by 0.28% or 1.88 points to 6,653.30.