Most of the Asian equity benchmarks are trading up in the early deals on Thursday, as a significant rebound in oil prices brought a semblance of calm, but global growth worries remained after weak US retail sales data compounded concerns over plunging copper prices. Further, the Japanese market is trading higher for the first time in three days, with the rebound in crude oil prices and a weaker yen boosting investor sentiment. Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Shanghai, Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Malaysia are up with modest gains. Meanwhile, South Korea and Taiwan are trading marginally lower.
Nikkei 225 surged 200.34 points or 1.19% to 16,996.30, Hang Seng jumped by 29.58 points or 0.12% to 24,142.18, Straits Times increased 4.27 points or 0.13% to 3,330.43, Jakarta Composite rose 14.15 points or 0.27% to 5,173.81, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI gained 3.34 points or 0.19% to 1,745.35 and Shanghai Composite was up by 30.47 points or 0.95% to 3,252.91
On the flip side, KOSPI Index dipped 2.14 points or 0.11% to 1,911.52 and Taiwan Weighted was down by 13.09 points or 0.14% to 9,167.14.