Most of the Asian equity benchmarks are trading up in the early deals on Wednesday, but traders remained nervous after oil prices hit new 5-1/2-year lows and Greek political turmoil sent the euro skidding. Oil prices continued to be hampered by worries of a supply glut amid renewed concerns about the future of the euro zone. Further, Japanese stocks gained as investors' appetite for risk returned, despite a fall in Wall Street shares driven by global economic worries. Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Malaysia is trading marginally lower. Meanwhile, Shanghai, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Indonesia and Hong Kong are up with modest gains.
Nikkei 225 gained by 53.60 points or 0.32% to 16,936.79, Hang Seng added by 168.54 points or 0.72% to 23,653.95, Straits Times rose 24.83 points or 0.76% to 3,306.78, Jakarta Composite surged 25.66 points or 0.50% to 5,194.72, Shanghai Composite jumped 0.49 points or 0.01% to 3,351.93, KOSPI Index increased 3.28 points or 0.17% to 1,885.73 and Taiwan Weighted was up by 56.21 points or 0.62% to 9,104.55.
On the flip side, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI was down by 3.46 points or 0.20% to 1,713.12,