Asian markets slide as Ukraine crisis escalates
Asian markets are experiencing partial retreats after Friday saw sliding shares on Wall Street and tensions escalate in Ukraine over the weekend.
On 11 April, JP Morgan posted results significantly below estimates, with net income dropping to $5.3bn (£3.2bn), compared with $6.5bn a year earlier. The biotech sector also struggled, leading the Nasdaq substantially lower.
Investors have once again turned their eyes to Ukraine where the government has launched a full-scale anti-terrorist operation. Pro-Russian forces have moved into half a dozen towns in the east of the country, with Ukrainian President Oleksander Turchinov accusing Russia of trying to seize eastern parts of the country.
Japan's Nikkei has retreated 0.08 per cent, while the Topix has made gains of 0.4 per cent. South Korea's Kospi has fallen by 0.01 per cent, with the Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index suffering a steeper decline of 0.4 per cent. The Hong Kong Hang Seng Index is up 0.05 per cent.