Most of the Asian equity benchmarks are trading up in the early deals on Wednesday, due to the positive cues overnight from Wall Street and the rally in crude oil prices. Investors are turning to riskier assets with energy prices climbing and on hopes that the new government in Greece would be able to renegotiate its bailout terms with international. Further, Japanese shares rose as banks outperformed on strong earnings from Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group while hopes for a new Greek debt swap deal and a further recovery in oil prices underpinned the overall mood. Among the other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, South Korea, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia are all trading in positive territory.
Nikkei 225 surged 348.01 points or 2.01% to 17,683.86, Hang Seng increased by 208.26 points or 0.85% to 24,763.04, Jakarta Composite rose 40.92 points or 0.77% to 5,332.64, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI added by 23.50 points or 1.32% to 1,804.76. Taiwan Weighted jumped 67.47 points or 0.71% to 9,516.20, Straits Times gained 16.34 points or 0.48% to 3,424.36, KOSPI Index increased 15.63 points or 0.80% to 1,967.59 and Shanghai Composite was up by 8.01 points or 0.25% to 3,212.92.