Most of the Asian equity benchmarks are trading in green in the early deals on Tuesday, with investor sentiment bolstered by the fresh record highs on Wall Street and higher commodity prices, including the overnight surge in crude oil prices after a purge of royal family's political rivals in Saudi Arabia. Investors continued to keep an eye on US President Donald Trump's ongoing tour of Asia. Meanwhile, Japan’s Nikkei index jumped to a near 26-year-high as foreign investors piled in on expectations of strong earnings from Japan Inc., while Wall Street’s strength underpinned sentiment. Among the other Asian markets, Shanghai, Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia and Taiwan are also higher. Bucking the trend, South Korea is edging lower.
Nikkei 225 gained 326.8 points or 1.45% to 22,875.15, Hang Seng jumped 346.84 points or 1.21% to 28,943.64, Taiwan Weighted added 35.58 points or 0.33% to 10,821.77, Shanghai Composite rose 19.65 points or 0.58% to 3,407.83, Jakarta Composite increased 9.78 points or 0.16% to 6,060.60, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI strengthened 2.98 points or 0.17% to 1,745.27 and Straits Times was up by 32.19 points or 0.95% to 3,414.04.
On the flip side, KOSPI Index was down by 5.11 points or 0.2% to 2,544.30.