Asia markets were mostly down on Monday morning after UBS agreed on a rescue deal to buy its banking rival Credit Suisse in a $3.2bn takeover over the weekend.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index led losses in the region, falling more than 2 percent and being dragged down by healthcare stocks, reported CNBC.

The Shanghai Composite was up 0.27 percent, while the Shenzhen Component was 0.39 percent higher.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 was 0.83 percent down and the Topix was 0.9 percent lower.

Meanwhile, in South Korea, Kospi is 0.27 percent lower while the Kosdaq was trading at 0.69 percent higher.

UBS’s merger has been welcomed internationally, with the US Federal Reserve and Treasury saying Switzerland had moved to “support financial stability”.

British chancellor Jeremy Hunt and the Bank of England have also hailed the deal.

The 167-year-old Credit Suisse was brought to the brink of financial calamity last week despite a £45bn emergency loan from Switzerland’s central bank.

European futures erased the gains recorded on the announcement of the agreement, as investors maintained their reservations about the health of the global financial system.

Credit Suisse shares fell 61.95 percent in preliminary trading through private bank Julius Baer, ​​Reuters reported. UBS shares were down 7.1%.

source independent.co.uk