Most of the Asian equity indices, reversing their trend, entered into red terrain in early deals on Thursday, as investors opted to book profit after a positive start, following the modest gains overnight on Wall Street as well as the fall in crude oil prices. Meanwhile, the Japanese market advanced, with the benchmark Nikkei 225 Index climbing to a 15-year high amid optimism about corporate earnings. Among the other markets in the Asian region, Hong Kong was higher by almost 4 percent, while South Korea and Singapore were trading with marginal cut. Meanwhile, Shanghai was down more than 1 percent.
Shanghai Composite declined 49.58 points or 1.24% to 3,945.24, Jakarta Composite decreased 3.78 points or 0.07% to 5,482.80, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI shed 3.44 points or 0.19% to 1,846.87, Straits Times slipped 3.23 points or 0.09% to 3,457.45 and KOSPI Index was down by 2.84 points or 0.14% to 2,056.42.
On the flip side, Taiwan Weighted increased 18.16 points or 0.19% to 9,590.13, Nikkei 225 rose 137.36 points or 0.69% to 19,927.17 and Hang Seng was up by 962.37 points or 3.67% to 27,199.23.