All the Asian counters are trading mostly in the green in early deals on Monday, tracking the record closing highs on Wall Street Friday after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said that the strength of the US economic expansion justified gradual interest rate hikes. Meanwhile, Japan’s Nikkei rose to near five-week highs, tracking a positive note in Wall Street after the US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell affirmed the Fed’s current rate hike policy.
Nikkei 225 soared 192.56 points or 0.84% to 22,794.33, Taiwan Weighted gained 84.81 points or 0.78% to 10,894.16, Jakarta Composite spurt 42.26 points or 0.70% to 6,011.01, Straits Times increased 21.30 points or 0.66% to 3,234.30, KOSPI Index added 5.59 points or 0.24% to 2,298.80, Shanghai Composite rose 38.97 points or 1.41% to 2,768.40, Hang Seng surged 571.22 points or 2.02% to 28,243.09, and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI was up by 2.54 points or 0.14% to 1,811.13.
