Most of the Asian equity benchmarks are trading higher in the early deals on Tuesday, tracking the overnight positive close on Wall Street amid easing concerns about the situation in Ukraine. Further, expectations for continued low interest rates helped U.S. and European markets. The sentiments improved further after confidence in the U.S. housing industry climbed to the highest level in seven months. On the regional front, the Japanese stock market surged higher, lifted by positive cues from Wall Street. Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, South Korea and Taiwan are trading notably higher, while Hong Kong, Indonesia and Singapore are up with modest gains. Shanghai and Malaysia are trading lower.
Nikkei 225 spurted by 137.98 points or 0.90% to 15,460.58, Hang Seng soared 153.58 points or 0.62% to 24,954.94, KOSPI Index gained 16.20 points or 0.79% to 2,069.33, Straits Times increased by 5.86 points or 0.18% to 3,318.64, Jakarta Composite climbed by 7.79 points or 0.15% to 5,156.75 and Taiwan Weighted was up by 108.07 points or 1.18% to 9,249.38.
On the flip side, Shanghai Composite dropped 4.85 points or 0.22% to 2,235.25 and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI was down by 2.30 points or 0.12% to 1,862.01.