Asian markets steady; Nikkei ends up 91pts

Asian markets were marginally up in noon trades after a slightly negative bias in earlier in the day.

The Nikkei ended with a gain of 91 points at 17,748, having recovered from the day's low of 17,617.

The Shanghai Composite index has gained 24 points at 3974, and the Hang Seng index has added 28 points to 20,734.

The Seoul Composite index has advanced 11 points to 1593, and the Straits Times index has moved up four points to 3443.

The Taiwan Weighted index, however, has slipped 43 points to 8053.