Asian equity indices are exhibiting mixed trade in early deals on Tuesday. On the regional front, the Japanese stock market surged higher, with investors indulging in some bargain hunting after recent declines. The overnight positive close on Wall Street also aided the upmove to an extent. In the economy news, final March numbers for Japan's leading and coincident indexes are due later in the day. Little change is expected from the preliminary readings that suggested scores of 106.5 and 114.0, respectively. Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Hong Kong is trading notably higher, while Shanghai and Taiwan are up marginally. South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia are trading lower.
Shanghai Composite rose 3.25 points or 0.16% to 2,008.43, Hang Seng increased by 174.18 points or 0.77% to 22,878.68, Nikkei 225 spurted by 134.97 points or 0.96% to 14,141.41 and Taiwan Weighted was up by 3.47 points or 0.04% to 8,903.37.
On the flip side, Jakarta Composite slipped 100.57 points or 2.01% to 4,914.43, KLSE Composite dropped 2.43 points or 0.13% to 1,884.64, Straits Times decreased by 0.51 points or 0.02% to 3,261.92 and Seoul Composite was down by 6.59 points or 0.33% to 2,008.55.