Asian markets are exhibiting mixed trend in the early deals on Thursday as choppy trade in the mainland equity markets kept a lid on risk appetite in the region. Overnight, Wall Street finished higher after the US central bank said the economy and job market continued to strengthen. The Japanese market is notably higher, tracking the positive cues overnight from Wall Street and a weaker yen. Better-than-expected Japanese industrial output data also boosted sentiment. Among the other Asian markets, Indonesia, Malaysia and Taiwan are also higher. Meanwhile, Shanghai, Hong Kong, South Korea and Singapore are marginally lower.
Nikkei 225 gained 202.87 points or 1.00% to 20,505.78, Taiwan Weighted increased by 96.38 points or 1.13% to 8,659.86, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI rose 5.74 points or 0.34% to 1,704.73 and Jakarta Composite was up by 9.73 points or 0.21% to 4,730.85.
On the flip side, Hang Seng contracted 17.43 points or 0.075% to 24,602.02, KOSPI Index dipped 12.60 points or 0.62% to 2,025.02, Straits Times declined 17.72 points or 0.54% to 3,266.28 and Shanghai Composite was down by 1.67 points or 0.04% to 3,787.49.