Asian markets trade mostly up in early deals on Wednesday

Most of the Asian equity benchmarks are trading in green terrain in the early deals on Wednesday, tracking a positive lead from Wall Street where the major averages posted gains overnight amid some strong earnings news. The mood, however, is somewhat cautious with investors looking ahead to the outcome of monetary policy meetings of the US Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan. On the regional front, Japanese market rose with investors indulging in some brisk buying in early trades. In economic report, industrial production in Japan was up a seasonally adjusted 0.3 percent on month in March that was shy of forecasts for 0.5 percent following the 2.3 percent contraction in February. Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Shanghai, Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia are trading higher, while Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan are down in negative territory.

Shanghai Composite increased by 0.68 points or 0.03% to 2,021.02, Jakarta Composite rose 15.45 points or 0.32% to 4,835.13, KLSE Composite gained 7.93 points or 0.43% to 1,867.27, Nikkei 225 was up by 0.91 points or 0.01% to 14,289.14 and Straits Times gained 23.12 points or 0.71% to 3,260.86.

On the flip side, Hang Seng declined by 256.86 points or 1.14% to 22,197.03, Seoul Composite dropped 1.67 points or 0.08% to 1,963.10 and Taiwan Weighted was down by 73.20 points or 0.83% to 8,798.91.