Most of the Asian equity benchmarks are trading up in the early deals on Thursday, with investors indulging in some bargain hunting following the overnight gains on Wall Street and higher commodity prices lifted resource stocks. Further, Chinese shares rebounded on stimulus hopes a day after gloomy first-quarter economic numbers too supported the uptrend. The Japanese stocks slipped as investors cut back on some recent outperformers including food companies and drug makers, while Sharp Corp surged on restructuring hopes. Among the other Asian markets, Shanghai, South Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Taiwan are up with modest gains. Meanwhile, Japan and Singapore are marginally lower.
Hang Seng rose 55.22 points or 0.20% to 27,674.04, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI increased 1.79 points or 0.10% to 1,841.92, KOSPI Index added 12.80 points or 0.60% to 2,132.76, Shanghai Composite jumped 79.77 points or 1.95% to 4,163.93, Taiwan Weighted gained 97.24 points or 1.02% to 9,637.30 and Jakarta Composite was up by 11.27 points or 0.21% to 5,425.82.
On the flip side, Nikkei 225 contracted 35.81 points or 0.18% to 19,833.95 and Straits Times was down by 10.90 points or 0.31% to 3,529.05.