Most of the Asian equity benchmarks are trading up in the early deals on Friday as stronger-than-expected Chinese inflation data eased some concerns about the health of world's second-biggest economy. Meanwhile, the Japanese market swung between gains and losses, with investors treading cautiously following the weak lead from Wall Street. Among the other Asian markets, South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia are higher. Bucking the trend, Shanghai, Taiwan and Malaysia are in negative territory.
Nikkei 225 added 71.61 points or 0.43% to 16,845.85, Hang Seng surged 132.50 points or 0.58% to 23,163.80, Straits Times jumped 9.35 points or 0.33% to 2,814.83, KOSPI Index rose 11.62 points or 0.58% to 2,027.06, and Jakarta Composite was up by 2.48 points or 0.05% to 5,342.88.
On the flip side, Taiwan Weighted declined 40.73 points or 0.44% to 9,178.44, Shanghai Composite dropped 16.21 points or 0.53% to 3,045.14, and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI was down by 2.68 points or 0.16% to 1,662.34.