Most of the Asian equity benchmarks are trading up in the early deals on Wednesday amid cautious trades as investors wait for a resolution on Greece's debt crisis. The Japanese market is extending gains, with the Nikkei 225 Index rising to an eighteen-year high amid continued optimism about a Greek debt deal. Among the other markets in the Asian region, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia and South Korea are up with modest gains. Meanwhile, Taiwan and Malaysia are marginally lower.
Nikkei 225 added 69.57 points or 0.33% to 20,878.99, Hang Seng jumped 47.74 points or 0.17% to 27,381.20, KOSPI Index surged 1.29 points or 0.06% to 2,082.49, Straits Times rose 10.60 points or 0.32% to 3,350.38, Jakarta Composite increased 29.05 points or 0.59% to 4,966.69 and Shanghai Composite was up by 41.54 points or 0.91% to 4,618.03.
On the flip side, Taiwan Weighted declined 6.62 points or 0.07% to 9,384.52 and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI was down by 0.69 points or 0.04% to 1,726.17.