Most of the Asian equity benchmarks are trading up in the early deals on Tuesday despite the negative cues overnight from Wall Street amid increased expectations of an interest rate hike by the US Federal Reserve next week. Though, Japan's Nikkei share average edged down following Wall Street's lead, with investors deterred by geopolitical tensions after the North Korean missile tests, though the dollar-yen stayed in a well-worn range. Among the other Asian markets, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan are up with modest gains. Bucking the trend, Shanghai, and Indonesia are edging lower.
Hang Seng rose 98.71 points or 0.42% to 23,694.99, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI gained 1.36 points or 0.08% to 1,728.72, KOSPI Index added 14.49 points or 0.70% to 2,095.85, Taiwan Weighted increased 38.95 points or 0.40% to 9,721.58, and Straits Times was up by 6.32 points or 0.20% to 3,127.83.
On the flip side, Nikkei 225 declined 41.91 points or 0.22% to 19,337.23, Shanghai Composite slipped 2.24 points or 0.07% to 3,231.63 and Jakarta Composite was down by 11.84 points or 0.22% to 5,397.97.