Asian markets firm; Nikkei up 198pts

Asian markets were hovering in the positive zone in morning trades.

While the Nikkei has rallied 198 points to 16,942, the Hang Seng has gained 59 points at 19,013. The Shanghai index has soared 73 points to 3004.

The Straits Times index has moved up 32 points to 3100. While the Taiwan Weighted index has advanced 37 points to 7757, the Seoul Composite index has added 11 points to 1439.