Asian markets are exhibiting mixed trend in the early deals on Wednesday, following the mixed cues overnight from Wall Street. Investors are cautious as they await China's trade data due later in the day. China stocks fell in tepid volumes as markets prepared for a long weekend holiday too. Chinese financial markets will close on Thursday and Friday for the Dragon Boat weekend holiday. However, energy stocks advanced as crude oil prices rose above the $50 mark for the first time in ten months. Among the other Asian markets, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Malaysia are lower. Bucking the trend, Nikkei, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan are up with modest gains.
Hang Seng declined 70.49 points or 0.33% to 21,257.75, Shanghai Composite dropped 13.06 points or 0.44% to 2,922.98, Jakarta Composite dipped 15.69 points or 0.32% to 4,918.30, and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI was down by 6.08 points or 0.37% to 1,654.54.
On the flip side, Nikkei 225 added 97.60 points or 0.59% to 16,773.05, KOSPI Index surged 5.19 points or 0.26% to 2,016.82, Taiwan Weighted jumped 32.04 points or 0.37% to 8,711.94, and Straits Times was up by 9.33 points or 0.33% to 2,857.42.