Asian markets trade mostly higher in early deals on Thursday

Most of the Asian equity benchmarks are trading up in the early deals on Thursday, as geopolitical concerns eased and oil prices steadied on data showing a lower-than-expected buildup in oil inventories. Traders also cheered the prospects of fresh stimulus amid mounting speculation the European Central Bank will ease its policy further at its meeting next week. Meanwhile, Japanese shares rose as weakness in the yen boosted export-related stocks, but shares in suppliers of parts for the iPhone's LCD screens slumped after the Nikkei business daily reported on Apple's plans to introduce organic light-emitting diode displays for its iPhones in 2018. Among the other Asian markets, Shanghai, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Taiwan are also trading higher. Bucking the trend, Singapore is in negative territory.

Nikkei 225 surged 136.64 points or 0.69% to 19,984.22, Hang Seng added 221.63 points or 0.99% to 22,719.63, KOSPI Index increased 20.09 points or 1.00% to 2,029.51, Jakarta Composite gained 26.17 points or 0.57% to 4,611.72, Taiwan Weighted spurt 90.44 points or 1.08% to 8,476.57, Shanghai Composite strengthen 9.14 points or 0.25% to 3,657.07, and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI was up by 0.34 points or 0.02% to 1,684.76.

On the flip side, Straits Times was down by 5.11 points or 0.18% to 2,886.47.