Most of the Asian equity benchmarks are trading in green in the early deals on Monday amid optimism that US President Donald Trump's tax reforms are moving closer to execution. Meanwhile, Japan’s Nikkei share average made 21-year highs and was on course to rise for a record fifteenth straight session, lifted by a weaker yen after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s coalition scored a resounding election victory on Sunday. Among the other Asian markets, Shanghai, Singapore Indonesia, Malaysia and Taiwan are also higher. Bucking the trend, South Korea and Hong Kong are lower.
Nikkei 225 added 259.08 points or 1.21% to 21,716.72, Straits Times gained 4.46 points or 0.13% to 3,345.19, Jakarta Composite increased 28.72 points or 0.48% to 5,958.27, Taiwan Weighted rose 15.74 points or 0.15% to 10,744.62, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI increased 2.86 points or 0.16% to 1,743.51, and Shanghai Composite was up by 0.79 points or 0.02% to 3,379.44.
On the flip side, Hang Seng declined 191.4 points or 0.67% to 28,295.84, and KOSPI Index was down by 0.26 points or 0.01% to 2,489.28.