Most of the Asian equity benchmarks are trading up in the early deals on Wednesday, as investors pared expectations slightly for a Federal Reserve interest rate increase following weak US productivity data, which drove the dollar and Treasury yields lower. Meanwhile, the Japanese market is higher despite light trading ahead of a national holiday on Thursday, though a stronger yen weighed on exporters' shares. Among the other Asian markets, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, Malaysia and Taiwan are also in positive territory. Bucking the trend, Shanghai and Indonesia are edging lower.
Nikkei 225 added 27.95 points or 0.17% to 16,792.92, Hang Seng gained 92.84 points or 0.41% to 22,558.45, Taiwan Weighted rose 22.44 points or 0.25% to 9,177.52, Straits Times increased 15.07 points or 0.52% to 2,885.85, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI jumped 0.98 points or 0.06% to 1,672.69, and KOSPI Index was up by 3.71 points or 0.18% to 2,047.49.
On the flip side, Shanghai Composite dropped 3.08 points or 0.10% to 3,022.60, and Jakarta Composite was down by 30.46 points or 0.56% to 5,409.83.