Extending their previous session’s rally, most of the Asian equity counters are trading in the positive terrain in early deals on Thursday, as investors remained optimistic about the global economy. Meanwhile, the Japanese Nikkei was trading higher on upbeat core machinery data, while a weaker yen lifted export-oriented stocks. On the economic front, core machine orders in Japan jumped a seasonally adjusted 9.3 percent on month in November to 882.6 billion yen. The headline figure shattered forecasts for an increase of 1.1 percent following the 0.6 percent gain in October. On a yearly basis, core machine orders climbed 16.6 percent - also topping expectations for a jump of 11.7 percent following the 17.8 percent spike in the previous month.
Shanghai Composite rose 0.85 points or 0.04% to 2,024.20, Hang Seng increased 67.46 points or 0.29% to 22,969.46, Nikkei 225 strengthened 22.17 points or 0.14% to 15,830.90, Seoul Composite added 5.19 points or 0.27% to 1,958.47 and Taiwan Weighted was up by 31.67 points or 0.37% to 8,634.22.
On the flip side, Jakarta Composite dipped 2.18 points or 0.05% to 4,439.42, KLSE Composite declined 9.40 points or 0.52% to 1,814.63 and Straits Times was down by 1.32 points or 0.04% to 3,141.93.