In Tokyo, investors were initially sullen and indices pointed steeply downwards. But soon the traders’ desire to buy was awakened and at lunchtime both the Nikkei 225 and Topix showed a quarter of a percent rise.
The Seoul Stock Exchange’s Kospi rose half a percent in morning trade, while Taiwan’s weighted index retreated 0.7 percent.
In China, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng had retreated half a percent by 10:30 a.m. local time, while the Shanghai Stock Exchange’s composite index had fallen 1.4 percent at the same time.
The Shenzhen stock exchange showed the worst development in morning trading, which was down a whopping 1.8 percent.