Most of the Asian equity benchmarks are trading higher in the early deals on Wednesday following the overnight gains on Wall Street and as upbeat economic data from the US, China and Europe boosted optimism for global economic growth. Meanwhile, Japan's Nikkei share average started the first trading day of 2017 on a positive note as investors took heart from upbeat global economic data which came out during Japan's holidays. A weaker yen boosted exporters. The final Nikkei Japan manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) rose to 52.4 in December, beating a preliminary reading of 51.9 and November's 51.3. A figure above 50 represents expansion in a sector, while a reading below 50 indicates contraction. Among the other Asian markets, Shanghai, Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan are all higher. Bucking the trend, Hong Kong, Indonesia, and South Korea are in negative territory.
Nikkei 225 surged 437.48 points or 2.29% to 19,551.85, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI increased 6.95 points or 0.42% to 1,642.48, Shanghai Composite rose 12.37 points or 0.39% to 3,148.29, Taiwan Weighted added 20.8 points or 0.22% to 9,293.68, and Straits Times was up by 21.00 points or 0.72% to 2,919.97.
On the flip side, Hang Seng dropped 20.1 points or 0.09% to 22,130.30, Jakarta Composite declined 5.16 points or 0.1% to 5,270.81, and KOSPI Index was down by 0.03 points to 2,043.94.
MoneyWorks4Me is a SEBI-registered Investment Adviser (IA) dedicated to helping investors build long-term wealth through transparent, research-driven, conflict-free guidance. Founded in 2008, we started our journey as a Research Analyst (RA), providing deep fundamental analysis, intrinsic value insights, and long-term investing frameworks for Indian equities. In 2017, we transitioned to a full-fledged SEBI-registered Investment Adviser, strengthening our commitment to acting as a fiduciary—always putting the investor’s interest first.
To become India’s most trusted, research-powered fiduciary advisory platform—where every investor, regardless of experience, can make calm, confident, and well-reasoned investment decisions.
MoneyWorks4Me ensures this through: