Most of the Asian equity indices are trading higher in the early deals on Tuesday, following data showing China's economy grew a little faster than expected in the first quarter. Data released by China today showed that the country's gross domestic product or GDP rose 6.8 percent in the first quarter on a yearly basis - in line with expectations and down from 6.9 percent in the previous quarter. In addition, China's industrial production and fixed asset investment rose in March, but missed forecasts, while retail sales growth in the month exceeded expectations. Though, China stocks fell further amid lingering concerns over trade tensions between China and the United States, and as investors pondered China’s GDP data for the first quarter. Among the other Asian markets, Nikkei, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia are higher. Bucking the trend, Taiwan and South Korea are in negative territory.
Nikkei 225 added 15.67 points or 0.07% to 21,851.20, Hang Seng spurt 0.55 points to 30,316.14, Straits Times rose 7.99 points or 0.23% to 3,505.18, Jakarta Composite gained 6.3 points or 0.1% to 6,293.04, and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI up by 3.16 points or 0.17% to 1,881.92.
On the flip side, Taiwan Weighted dropped 135.35 points or 1.24% to 10,819.20, Shanghai Composite dipped 10.75 points or 0.35% to 3,099.90, and KOSPI Index down by 5.48 points or 0.22% to 2,452.01.
