Most of the Asian equity benchmarks are trading up in the early deals on Friday, after the US Federal Reserve ended weeks of speculation by deciding to keep interest rates at record lows on global economic worries. The Japan's Nikkei snapped a three-day winning streak after the US Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged on worries about the global economy, while investors refrained from taking large positions before long holidays in Japan. Among the other Asian markets, South Korea, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia and Taiwan are up with modest gains. Bucking the trend, Malaysia is marginally lower.
Hang Seng gained 92.10 points or 0.42% to 21,946.73, Shanghai Composite spurt 12.22 points or 0.40% to 3,098.28, Taiwan Weighted surged 25.48 points or 0.30% to 8,470.98, Jakarta Composite jumped 33.87 points or 0.77% to 4,412.26, Straits Times strengthen 17.91 points or 0.62% to 2,913.72 and KOSPI Index was up by 11.78 points or 0.60% to 1,988.27.
On the flip side, Nikkei 225 declined 252.18 points or 1.37% to 18,180.09 and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI was down by 4.67 points or 0.28% to 1,676.87.