Asian equity benchmarks are rallying in the early deals on Friday, following the firm cues overnight from Wall Street after the yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury note retreated from the four-year high set in the previous session. Meanwhile, Japan’s Nikkei share average edged up with most sectors advancing as sentiment improved after fears of more aggressive US interest rate hikes receded, with defensive stocks such as construction and utilities outperforming.
Nikkei 225 added 125.7 points or 0.58% to 21,862.14, Hang Seng jumped 260.93 points or 0.84% to 31,226.61, Taiwan Weighted rose 100.26 points or 0.94% to 10,762.64, Jakarta Composite gained 48.43 points or 0.73% to 6,641.49, KOSPI Index spurt 27.12 points or 1.12% to 2,441.40, Shanghai Composite spurt 3.09 points or 0.09% to 3,271.65, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI strengthen 3.05 points or 0.16% to 1,858.12, and Straits Times was up by 34.41 points or 0.99% to 3,522.87.
