Most of the Asian equity benchmarks are trading in green in the early deals on Monday, following strong US economic data and positive comments out of Washington on the US-China trade talks. The Japanese market is rising despite the mixed cues from Wall Street, as the surge in crude oil prices and a weaker yen boosted investor sentiment. Among the other Asian markets, Singapore, and Indonesia are lower. Bucking the trend, Hong Kong, and Malaysia are higher. The markets in South Korea, Taiwan and China are closed for the Lunar New Year holidays.
Nikkei 225 added 70.24 points or 0.34% to 20,858.63, Hang Seng gained 59.47 points or 0.21% to 27,990.21, and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI up by 5.84 points or 0.35% to 1,689.37.
On the flip side, Straits Times declined 4.12 points or 0.13% to 3,184.56, and Jakarta Composite down by 36.64 points or 0.56% to 6,502.00.
