Asian markets are exhibiting mixed trend in the early deals on Thursday after Wall Street rebounded from a losing streak and oil prices surged. Meanwhile, the Japanese stock market is rising following the positive lead overnight from Wall Street after the US Federal Reserve's minutes showed that officials will not rush to raise interest rates. However, a stronger yen weighed on exporters shares. Among the other Asian markets, Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia are up with modest gains. Bucking the trend, Hong Kong, Shanghai, South Korea, and Taiwan are in negative territory.
Hang Seng dropped 2.56 points or 0.01% to 20,204.11, Shanghai Composite declined 23.12 points or 0.76% to 3,027.47, Taiwan Weighted dipped 25.21 points or 0.30% to 8,488.09, and KOSPI Index was down by 2.74 points or 0.14% to 1,968.58.
On the flip side, Nikkei 225 surged 48.67 points or 0.31% to 15,764.03, Jakarta Composite added 17.34 points or 0.36% to 4,885.57, Straits Times increased 8.54 points or 0.30% to 2,819.79, and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI was up by 3.57 points or 0.21% to 1,720.58.