Most of the Asian equity benchmarks are trading up in the early deals on Thursday, on amid optimism about the monetary policy announcement from the European Central Bank later in the day, with the bank expected to unveil additional stimulus. The Japanese market is trading lower, paring gains made in early trades following speculation of additional stimulus measures from the European Central Bank later in the day. Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and Taiwan are up with modest gains. Shanghai is marginally lower
Hang Seng jumped by 105.54 points or 0.43% to 24,458.12, Jakarta Composite surged 24.75 points or 0.47% to 5,240.02, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI improved by 9.88 points or 0.56% to 1,779.97. Taiwan Weighted increased 39.02 points or 0.42% to 9,353.12, Straits Times rose 6.77 points or 0.20% to 3,361.23 and KOSPI Index was up by 2.65 points or 0.14% to 1,923.88.
On the flip side, Nikkei 225 dipped 7.10 points or 0.04% to 17,273.38 and Shanghai Composite was down by 6.60 points or 0.20% to 3,317.01.