Asian equity indices are exhibiting mixed trade in early deals on Thursday with Japan leading the region up and investors digesting heavy earnings news out of Hong Kong and Australia. The Japanese stock market is notably higher as investors indulged in some buying, tracking a positive lead from Wall Street and a stronger greenback. However, buying interest is somewhat subdued in most of the markets in the region due to lingering geopolitical worries. Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea are trading modestly higher, while, Indonesia, Shanghai and Hong Kong are slightly weak.
Nikkei 225 strengthen by 99.55 points or 0.65% to 15,313.18, KOSPI Index Rose by 0.96 points or 0.05% to 2,063.32. Straits Times surged 5.04 points or 0.15% to 3,306.45 and Taiwan Weighted was up by 14.99 points or 0.16% to 9,246.30.
On the flip side, Shanghai Composite dropped by 1.08 points or 0.05% to 2,221.80. Hang Seng slipped 18.79 points or 0.08% to 24,871.55, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI declined by 0.26 points or 0.01% to 1,857.78 and Jakarta Composite was down by 11.33 points or 0.22% to 5,156.94.