Asian equity benchmarks are trading marginally in green in the early deals on Tuesday, as investors seemed reluctant to make significant moves as they brace for a heavy schedule of corporate earnings results this week. Though, some gains were capped on weak lead overnight from Wall Street. Investors are closely watching China and the 19th Communist Party Congress, which winds up on Tuesday and at which President Xi Jinping is expected to release the composition of the Standing Committee - the apex of power in the country. Meanwhile, Japan’s Nikkei share average edged up in choppy trade on track for a record 16-day winning streak, while Yaskawa Electric tumbled after disappointing investors with tepid profit forecasts. Among the other Asian markets, Shanghai, South Korea, Indonesia, Hong Kong and Taiwan are also modestly higher. Bucking the trend, Malaysia and Singapore are edging lower.
Nikkei 225 added 14.72 points or 0.07% to 21,711.37, Hang Seng increased 9.55 points or 0.03% to 28,315.43, Jakarta Composite gained 9.53 points or 0.16% to 5,959.56, Taiwan Weighted spurt 5.91 points or 0.06% to 10,741.12, KOSPI Index rose 3.58 points or 0.14% to 2,493.63, and Shanghai Composite was up by 2.54 points or 0.08% to 3,383.24.
On the flip side, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI dropped 1.19 points or 0.07% to 1,740.28, and Straits Times was down by11.82 points or 0.35% to 3,337.98.