Asian markets trade mostly higher in early deals on Wednesday

Most of the Asian equity benchmarks are trading higher in the early deals on Wednesday. On the regional front, the Japanese stock market swung between gains and losses with investors looking for direction after recent gains. In economic news, the monetary base in Japan surged 39.6 percent on year to 255.754 trillion yen in October. That follows the 35.3 percent surge in September. The adjusted monetary base climbed an annual 76.6 percent to 244.740 trillion yen after gaining 8.3 percent in the previous month. Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore and Indonesia are trading higher. Shanghai, Malaysia and Taiwan are trading lower.

Nikkei 225 soared 16.76 points or 0.10% to 16,879.23, Hang Seng increased by 296.02 points or 1.25% to 23,998.06, KOSPI Index improved 0.38 points or 0.02% to 1,935.57, Straits Times surged by 2.81 points or 0.09% to 3,284.38 and Jakarta Composite was up by 6.24 points or 0.12% to 5,077.18.

On the flip side, Shanghai Composite declined by 11.83 points or 0.49% to 2,418.84, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI dipped 6.25 points or 0.34% to 1,841.11 and Taiwan Weighted was down by 27.44 points or 0.31% to 8,961.74.