Asian equities a little lower on more skittish sentiment

Nikkei 19-12

Japanese stocks continued to retreat on the week as investors continue to stay more cautious amid fading trade optimism with little else to go on in the new year.

The only notable news in the morning is Trump being impeached but it hardly is worth anything with the Senate surely to shoot down the case voted on by the Lower House earlier.

The Hang Seng is down by 0.5% while the Shanghai Composite is down by 0.2% amid more lackluster trading sentiment on the day.

The overall risk mood remains more modest though with US futures keeping flat with little change observed in bond yields. As such, USD/JPY is keeping in a narrow 15 pips range and resting at 109.57 currently to start the European morning.