Asian Markets Mixed after the Failed Brexit Vote

Asian and Pacific Rim markets were mostly mixed this morning. Asian traders were digesting the news that U.K. Prime Minster Teresa May was overwhelmingly defeated as her Brexit deal was given the thumbs down in parliament. This muddies the water as the United Kingdom is soon set to leave the European Union.

The Asian benchmark, in Japan, the Nikkei 225 was down this morning. The Nikkei lost almost 0.7 percent. In Tokyo, the broader Topix index was down 0.52 percent.

In South Korea, the Kospi composite index was up. This index tacked on nearly 0.2 percent.

Markets in China were mostly lower today. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index was down 0.15 percent. On the mainland, the Shanghai composite was down by 0.05 percent. The smaller Shenzhen composite was in and out of positive and negative territory all day.

In Australia, the benchmark S&P ASX 200 was higher. This benchmark gained 0.21 percent. The heavily weighted financial sub-index was up 0.6 percent.

Asian Traders Digest Brexit Headiness as May Loses her Big Vote

Prime Minister Theresa May’s deal for how the United Kingdom would exit the European Union was voted down in the House of Commons. This is the U.K.’s lower house of parliament and it lost by a wide margin. The no vote was widely expected. It was also the biggest political loss by a sitting government in the monarchy’s political history.

The GBP/USD market was last trading at $1.2841. This was at 11:00 a.m. Hong Kong time as the pound recovered some sharp losses to below $1.2740 seen overnight.