Asian equity benchmarks are trading lower on Tuesday, amid optimism about global economic growth followed by the US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin's affirmation that US-China trade talks will resume in two weeks. However, market sentiments were weak after the release of disappointing European economic data. Japan's Nikkei, which resumed trading after a holiday on Monday, is advancing despite the mixed cues overnight from Wall Street. Among the other Asian markets, Shanghai, Hong Kong, South Korea, and Singapore are in positive territory. Bucking the trend, Taiwan Indonesia and Malaysia are trading lower.
Nikkei 225 up 22.65 points 0.10% to 22,101.74, Straits Times gained 14.68 points or 0.47% to 3,157.92, Hang Seng increased 83.45 points or 0.32% to 26,305.85, Shanghai rose 22.83 points 0.77% to 2,999.91, and KOSPI Index enlarged 3.09 points or 0.15% to 2,094.79.
On the flip side, Taiwan Weighted narrowed 1.15 points or 0.01% to 10,917.87, Jakarta Composite lower by 75.85 points or 1.22% to 6,130.35, and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI declined 3.67 points or 0.23% to 1,589.26.
