Most of the Asian equity benchmarks are trading up in the early deals on Thursday following the positive lead overnight from Wall Street and the surge in crude oil prices. However, gains are modest as investors preferred to stay on the sidelines after the third and final US presidential debate ended. Japanese shares rose for a fifth day as oil explorers rebounded from their biggest drop in about a month following a gain in crude prices, while exporters advanced as the yen weakened. Among the other Asian markets, Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia and Taiwan are modestly higher. Bucking the trend, South Korea, and Shanghai are edging lower.
Nikkei 225 gained 197.61 points or 1.16% to 17,196.52, Hang Seng rose 161.47 points or 0.69% to 23,466.44, Jakarta Composite increased 1.59 points or 0.03% to 5,410.88, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI gained 1.85 points or 0.11% to 1,670.12, and Taiwan Weighted was down by 35.87 points or 0.39% to 9,319.86.
On the flip side, KOSPI Index declined 1.65 points or 0.08% to 2,039.29, Straits Times dipped 0.88 points or 0.03% to 2,843.74, and Shanghai Composite was down by 2.69 points or 0.09% to 3,082.03.