Most of the Asian equity benchmarks are trading higher in the early deals on Tuesday as concerns about a potential global trade war eased following news that US President Donald Trump faced mounting pressure from political allies to reconsider his decision to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. Trump has also indicated that the tariffs on steel and aluminum would be removed if the US negotiates a ‘new & fair’ NAFTA agreement. Energy-related stocks advanced after crude oil prices rose overnight. Meanwhile, Japan’s Nikkei share average rose and was poised to snap a four-day losing run after Wall Street shares rallied overnight, with the dollar’s bounce lifting exporter shares. Among the other Asian markets, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Malaysia are also higher. Bucking the trend, Indonesia is edging lower.
Nikkei 225 rose 433.09 points or 2.06% to 21,475.18, Straits Times added 40.46 points or 1.18% to 3,479.07, Hang Seng jumped 414.57 points or 1.39% to 30,300.96, Taiwan Weighted gained 128.33 points or 1.21% to 10,771.23, KOSPI Index spurt 34.51 points or 1.45% to 2,409.57, Shanghai Composite increased 6.78 points or 0.21% to 3,263.71, and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI up by 5.56 points or 0.3% to 1,848.18.
On the flip side, Jakarta Composite was down by 3.23 points or 0.05% to 6,547.36.
