Most of the Asian equity indices, barring KLSE Composite, are trading higher in early deals on Wednesday, reacting positively to the widening trade surplus in China, falling industry activity index in Japan and a positive reaction by investors to the US Federal Reserve Chairman Janet Yellen’s Congressional testimony. On the economic front, the index measuring tertiary industry activity in Japan was down a seasonally adjusted 0.4 percent on month in December, coming in at 99.8. That missed expectations for a decline of 0.3 percent following the upwardly revised 0.8 percent increase in November. Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Hong Kong, Indonesia, South Korea, Shanghai and Taiwan are trading notably higher. Singapore is up with modest gains, while Malaysia is trading weak.
Shanghai Composite added 1.24 points or 0.06% to 2,104.91, Hang Seng spurted 232.77 points or 1.06% to 22,195.75, Jakarta Composite gained 15.78 points or 0.35% to 4,485.97, Nikkei 225 increased by 95.10 points or 0.65% to 14,813.44, Straits Times strengthened by 14.38 points or 0.47% to 3,043.48, Seoul Composite rose 7.23 points or 0.37% to 1,939.29 and Taiwan Weighted was up 69.70 points or 0.83% to 8,500.26.
On the flip side, KLSE Composite declined by 1.38 points or 0.08% to 1,822.79.