Most of the Asian equity indices are trading in fine fettle in Thursday morning deals following a positive lead from Wall Street. Japanese benchmark was flat, taking a bit of a breather after stretching to a one-month peak. The Bank of Japan maintained its massive monetary stimulus launched in April and revised up its outlook for the economy following a two-day review. Meanwhile, South Korea’s Kospi Composite was up by a percentage point as Samsung Electronics, which accounts for 18 per cent of the index’s weighting, rose 1.9 per cent after unveiling its smartwatch.
Hang Seng surged 274.22 points or 1.23% to 22,600.44, Jakarta Composite rose 32.05 points or 0.79% to 4,105.51, KLSE Composite gained 6.33 points or 0.37% to 1,723.09, Straits Times strengthened 33.97 points or 1.13% to 3,049.39, Seoul Composite added 19.33 points or 1.00% to 1,952.36 and Taiwan Weighted was up by 74.66 points or 0.92% to 8,158.10.
On the flip side, Shanghai Composite slipped 1.59 points or 0.07% to 2,126.03 and Nikkei 225 was down by 68.64 points or 0.49% to 13,985.23.