Asian markets are exhibiting mixed trend in the early deals on Wednesday with Shanghai stocks widening losses despite better-than-expected Chinese gross domestic product data. The Japanese market is higher, following the positive lead overnight from Wall Street and European markets. However, investors are treading cautiously ahead of the Bank of Japan's monetary policy decision due later in the day. Among the other Asian markets, South Korea, Singapore and Malaysia are up with modest gains. Meanwhile, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Shanghai and Indonesia are lower.
Nikkei 225 increased by 77.38 points or 0.38 % to 20,462.71, KOSPI Index added 9.21 points or 0.45 % to 2,068.44, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI rose 2.67 points or 0.16 % to 1,723.77 and Straits Times was up by 14.56 points or 0.44 % to 3,331.06.
On the flip side, Jakarta Composite contracted 35.01 points or 0.71 % to 4,866.80, Hang Seng dipped 102.19 points or 0.41% to 25,018.72, Shanghai Composite declined 94.00 points or 2.40 % to 3,830.49 and Taiwan Weighted was down by 10.97 points or 0.12% to 9,030.79.