Most of the Asian equity benchmarks traded higher in early deals on Monday, with the continued optimism over global economic recovery amid positive earnings news and strong economic data from the US and China. However, caution followed by the surge in corona cases world-wide and the possible economic activity restrictions kept a lid on the gains. Oil stocks retreated with the weakness in crude oil rates on Friday. Japan’s Nikkei rebounded from early losses in the session, with the Nikkei 225 above the 29,700 level, on strong local trade data and broadly positive cues from Wall Street. In economic news, Japan posted a merchandise trade surplus of 663.7 billion yen in March, exceeding expectations for a surplus of 490.0 billion yen. Among the Asian markets, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and China are in positive territory. Bucking the trend, Indonesia, and Malaysia are in lower note
.
Nikkei 225 up by 52.71 points or 0.18% to 29,736.08, Straits Times increased 7.43 points or 0.23% to 3,209.19, KOSPI Index hiked by 10.87 points or 0.34% to 3,209.49, Hang Seng rose by 232.17 points or 0.80% to 29,201.88, Taiwan Weighted lifted 88.25 points or 0.51% to 17,247.06 and Shanghai Composite widened by 44.55 points or 1.30% to 3,471.17.
On the flip side, Jakarta Composite slipped by 32.67 points or 0.54% to 6,053.59, and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI lower by 8.43 points 0.52% to 1,599.95.