Most of the Asian equity benchmarks are trading up in the early deals on Monday following the modest gains on Wall Street Friday after Donald Trump's inauguration as the 45th US President. Nevertheless, investors turned cautious after Trump's inaugural address did not specify his economic policies, but sounded protectionist after he pledged to lead an administration that puts America first. Though, Japan's Nikkei share average dropped as shares of exporters fell on a stronger yen, while sentiment was subdued on concerns over newly sworn-in US President Donald Trump's protectionist trade view. Among the other Asian markets, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan are all modestly higher. Bucking the trend, Indonesia and South Korea are edging lower.
Hang Seng added 13.05 points or 0.06% to 22,898.96, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI gained 8.40 points or 0.50% to 1,673.29, Shanghai Composite jumped 10.47 points or 0.34% to 3,133.61, Taiwan Weighted increased 77.91 points or 0.83% to 9,409.37, and Straits Times was up by 8.55 points or 0.28% to 3,019.63.
On the flip side, Nikkei 225 dipped 215.13 points or 1.12% to 18,922.78, KOSPI Index slipped 0.50 points or 0.02% to 2,065.11, and Jakarta Composite was down by 2.20 points or 0.04% to 5,252.11.