Most of the Asian equity benchmarks are trading in green in the early deals on Wednesday in holiday-thinned trading, reflecting gains in resources stocks after crude oil prices rose to two-year highs overnight and as iron ore, gold and copper prices also strengthened. Japan’s Nikkei share average inched up with a rally in crude prices supporting oil-related shares. Meanwhile, Hong Kong shares rose slightly as the market reopened after the Christmas holiday. Though, China stocks weakened amid signs slowing economic growth and year-end liquidity tightness. Among the other Asian markets, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and Taiwan are also higher. Bucking the trend, South Korea is in negative territory.
Nikkei 225 added 18.63 points or 0.08% to 22,911.32, Hang Seng spurt 8.31 points or 0.03% to 29,586.32, Jakarta Composite rose 28.67 points or 0.46% to 6,249.68, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI increased 7.01 points or 0.4% to 1,767.00, Straits Times gained 11.56 points or 0.34% to 3,389.72, and Taiwan Weighted was up by 57.5 points or 0.55% to 10,479.41.
On the flip side, KOSPI Index dropped 4.77 points or 0.2% to 2,422.57, and Shanghai Composite was down by 4.34 points or 0.13% to 3,301.79.