Most of the Asian equity benchmarks are trading up in the early deals on Thursday after volatile Chinese stocks reversed course and rose, while the dollar stood tall after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen reinforced expectations for a US rate hike. The Japanese market is up with modest gains after Greece approved new austerity measures to secure a new bailout deal from its creditors. Banks are leading the gainers. Among the other Asian markets, South Korea, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Singapore are up with modest gains. Meanwhile, Taiwan and Malaysia are marginally lower.
Nikkei 225 increased 90.63 points or 0.44% to 20,553.96, KOSPI Index rose 5.09 points or 0.25% to 2,078.00, Straits Times gained 8.46 points or 0.25% to 3,347.32, Hang Seng jumped 8.67 points or 0.03% to 25,064.43 and Shanghai Composite was up by 37.65 points or 0.99% to 3,843.35.
On the flip side, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI declined 0.53 points or 0.03% to 1,726.73 and Taiwan Weighted was down by 10.42 points or 0.12% to 9,043.78.