Most of the Asian equity benchmarks are trading higher in the early deals on Monday on signs the United States and China were toning down their trade war rhetoric and as investors wagered on a slower pace of US interest rate hikes. Meanwhile, the Japanese market recovered after a weak start and is modestly higher following the mixed cues from Wall Street Friday. Among the other Asian markets, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Malaysia and Taiwan are also higher. Bucking the trend, South Korea, Singapore, and Indonesia are lower.
Nikkei 225 added 79.39 points or 0.35% to 22,837.87, Taiwan Weighted gained 95.58 points or 0.88% to 10,954.56, Hang Seng jumped 399.76 points or 1.28% to 31,521.82, Shanghai Composite spurt 17.53 points or 0.55% to 3,180.80, and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI up by 8.42 points or 0.46% to 1,854.93.
On the flip side, Jakarta Composite dropped 58.52 points or 0.98% to 5,898.32, KOSPI Index declined 4.16 points or 0.17% to 2,473.55, and Straits Times down by 11.36 points or 0.32% to 3,558.81.
