Most of the Asian equity benchmarks are trading up in the early deals on Wednesday, adding to the gains in the past few sessions, amid improved risk appetite following the positive lead overnight from Wall Street and the jump in crude oil prices. Optimism over the possibility of new stimulus by global central banks has lifted investor sentiment. Japan's Nikkei share average rose to a more than a one-month high as speculators placed new bets on Prime Minister Shinzo Abe launching an aggressive policy mix of monetary and fiscal easing after his election victory. Meanwhile, Chinese stocks edged up with investors shrugging off the impact of an international tribunal's ruling that denied China's claims in the South China Sea. Among the other Asian markets, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Indonesia are in positive territory. Bucking the trend, Taiwan and Malaysia are down with modest losses.
Nikkei 225 gained 115.14 points or 0.72% to 16,210.79, Hang Seng rose 110.79 points or 0.52% to 21,335.53, KOSPI Index added 5.18 points or 0.26% to 1,996.41, Straits Times jumped 2.45 points or 0.08% to 2,904.27, Jakarta Composite increased 3.30 points or 0.06% to 5,102.83, and Shanghai Composite was up by 11.07 points or 0.36% to 3,060.45.
On the flip side, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI dropped 0.82 points or 0.05% to 1,653.15, and Taiwan Weighted was down by 12.70 points or 0.14% to 8,828.76.