Most of the Asian equity benchmarks are trading up in the early deals on Tuesday as Greece lurched toward defaulting on its looming IMF debt repayment deadline, raising the likelihood of the cash-strapped nation's exit from the Euro zone. The Japanese market is higher, rebounding from a one-week closing low in the previous session. However, investors are treading cautiously amid worries about the Greek debt crisis. Among the other markets in the Asian region, Singapore, South Korea, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Taiwan are up with modest gains. While Shanghai is marginally down.
Nikkei 225 gained 108.49 points or 0.54% to 20,218.44, Hang Seng jumped 313.29 points or 1.21% to 26,280.27, Taiwan Weighted increased 44.80 points or 0.49% to 9,280.90, KOSPI Index surged 7.88 points or 0.38% to 2,068.37, Straits Times added by 41.18 points or 1.26% to 3,321.36, Jakarta Composite rose 37.10 points or 0.76% to 4,919.68 and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI was up by 15.56 points or 0.92% to 1,707.48.
On the flip side, Shanghai Composite was down by 0.56 points or 0.01% to 4,052.47.