Asian equity benchmarks are trading mixed in the early deals on Tuesday ahead of a meeting between the US and China at the Group of 20 summit this week, despite President Donald Trump saying in an interview with the Wall Street Journal that it was ‘highly unlikely’ he would delay an increase in tariffs on Chinese goods to 25 percent from 10 percent. The Japanese market is modestly higher, tracking the positive cues overnight from Wall Street and a weaker yen. Among the other Asian markets, Singapore, Indonesia, South Korea, and Shanghai are higher. Bucking the trend, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Malaysia are in negative territory.
Nikkei 225 added 177.18 points or 0.81% to 21,989.18, Straits Times gained 6.08 points or 0.20% to 3,099.46, Shanghai Composite rose 10.93 points or 0.42% to 2,586.74, Jakarta Composite increased 0.52 points or 0.01% to 6,023.30, and KOSPI Index up by 15.01 points or 0.72% to 2,098.03.
On the flip side, Hang Seng declined 24.62 points or 0.09% to 26,351.56, Taiwan Weighted dropped 22.15 points or 0.23% to 9,743.21, and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI down by 16.39 points or 0.96% to 1,685.60.
