Most of the Asian equity benchmarks are trading up in the early deals on Tuesday, but gains were tempered after Greek debt talks broke down, raising the prospect Athens might leave the euro currency. The Wall Street was closed to the Presidents Day holiday. Further, Japanese stock market is also lower, down from a seven-year high, on the failure to reach a deal on the Greece debt crisis and a stronger Yen. The weak close in the international markets on Monday is also aiding the slump. Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Malaysia and Singapore are trading lower with modest losses, while Shanghai, South Korea and Indonesia are marginally higher.
Hang Seng gained 93.85 points or 0.38% to 24,820.38, Jakarta Composite increased 8.30 points or 0.16% to 5,333.79, KOSPI Index surged 3.02points or 0.15% to 1,961.25 and Shanghai Composite was up by 26.46 points or 0.82% to 3,248.82.
On the flip side, Nikkei 225 tumbled 15.61 points or 0.09% to 17,989.16, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI dipped 2.57 points or 0.14% to 1,806.32 and Straits Times was down by 14.72 points or 0.43% to 3,412.44.