Asian markets trade mostly higher in early deals on Monday

Most of the Asian equity benchmarks are trading up in the early deals on Monday following the positive lead from Wall Street and European markets on Friday and as they start to entertain the prospect of a near term US rate hike. Bucking the trend, the Japanese market is notably lower despite the positive cues from Wall Street, as investors resorted to profit taking following the recent strong gains. Data released before the open showed Japan's exports skidded 10.1 percent in April from a year earlier, in line with expectations and down for a seventh straight month, reflecting sluggish demand from China and emerging markets. Additionally, a stronger yen weighed on exporters.

Shanghai Composite added 14.79 points or 0.52% to 2,840.27, Hang Seng surged 68.38 points or 0.34% to 19,920.58, Jakarta Composite increased 27.10 points or 0.58% to 4,738.98, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI gained 1.32 points or 0.08% to 1,630.11, Straits Times improved 8.30 points or 0.30% to 2,772.12, KOSPI Index rose 7.64 points or 0.39% to 1,955.31, and Taiwan Weighted was up by 215.53 points or 2.65% to 8,346.79.

On the flip side, Nikkei 225 was down by 65.99 points or 0.39% to 16,670.36.