Asian markets traded mixed in early deals on Thursday, amidst optimism over strong US corporate earnings as against lingering woes over geopolitical and trade policy uncertainties. South Korea’s KOSPI surged the most among Asian indices with the rally in large-cap chipmakers, following Nvidia Corp.’s stronger-than-expected earnings report. Investors’ sentiments got boosted after the Bank of Korea maintained 2.5% benchmark rate for the sixth consecutive time pointing to a robust economic recovery and steady financial health. Bucking the trend, Hang Seng dipped over cautiousness ahead of upcoming economic data and trade tariff concerns.

Nikkei rose by 71.88 points or 0.12% to 58,655.00, Taiwan weighted added 24.69 points or 0.07% to 35,437.76, KOSPI Index surged by 151.39 points or 2.49% to 6,235.25, and Shanghai Composite was up by 1.89 points or 0.05% to 4,149.12.

On the flip side, Hang Seng fell by 142.72 points 0.53% to 26,623.00, Straits Times dipped by 19.03 points or 0.38% to 4,988.70, Jakarta Composite slipped by 67.04 points 0.81% to 8,255.19, and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI index was down by 4.66 points or 0.27% to 1,743.15.