Asian markets open higher

The Asian markets have started higher with most of the indices trading in the green except Jakarta Composite and Straits Times  which is flat with a negative bias.

Among the gainers are Seoul Composite and Taiwan Weighted which added 1% each followed by Shanghai Composite, Hang Seng and Nikkei which gained in the range between
0.2-0.8%.

The Nikkei average edged higher as shares of electric power companies jumped after the cabinet approved a scheme to help Tokyo Electric Power compensate people affected by the crisis at its crippled nuclear plant. The benchmark Nikkei rose 0.2% to 9,463.

The Chinese index, Shanghai Composite gained 0.8% as the Chinese consumer inflation came in at 5.5% compared to 5.3% in April, roughly in line with expectations putting to rest worries about potential monetary-policy moves from China