Asian equity markets ended mostly in green on Wednesday even as underlying sentiment remained cautious after North Korea fired a ballistic missile into the Sea of Japan and the US said it is considering all options to tackle the threat posed by the country's repeated nuclear arms test. Investors also looked ahead to some key events this week, including the release of minutes of the latest Federal Reserve meeting later today, the US-China summit starting Thursday, and the closely-watched monthly US jobs report due on Friday. Chinese shares ended higher as investors cheered Beijing's decision to launch a new economic zone in Hebei province, sending shares of several related firms surging by the daily limit of 10 percent. Further, Japanese shares rose as the yen rally paused and data from Markit showed activity in the country's services sector expanded at the fastest pace in 19 months in March.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 3,270.31 | 47.79 | 1.48 |
Hang Seng | 24,400.80 | 139.32 | 0.57 |
Jakarta Composite | 5,676.98 | 25.16 | 0.45 |
KLSE Composite | 1,744.67 | -2.52 | -0.14 |
Nikkei 225 | 18,861.27 | 51.02 | 0.27 |
Straits Times | 3,176.55 | -2.51 | -0.08 |
KOSPI Composite | 2,160.85 | -0.25 | -0.01 |
Taiwan Weighted | 9,949.48 | 137.96 | 1.41 |