Markets in Australia and Japan rang in the year of the monkey on a slightly higher note, erasing early losses Monday. Most major Asian markets remained closed for the Lunar New Year holidays.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 gained 184.71 points, or 1.1%, to 17,004.30
In Australia, the ASX 200 index eased 0.78 points to 4,975.39, with the financial sector seeing losses of 0.5%
Banking and finance stocks in Australia and Japan came under pressure. Down Under, the country's so-called four biggest banks -ANZ, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Westpac and NAB - closed as much 1.5%.
Japanese financials Mitsubishi UFJ, SMFG and Mizuho Financial retraced some losses to trade mixed, some gaining as much 0.6%
Last week, Citigroup downgraded Japanese megabanks Mitsubishi UFJ, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial (SMFG), and Mizuho to sell, saying that the Bank of Japan's introduction of negative interest rates will likely reduce overall megabanks' net interest income by around 300 billion yen, or around 9% of Citi's net profit forecast for this fiscal year.
Major exporters in Japan retraced losses to trade mostly up, with shares of Nissan gaining 0.8%, Sharp up by 0.6% and Honda higher by 0.4%. Shares of Toyota dropped 1.1%, while Sony swooned 1.8%.
The U.S. dollar-yen pair, which was at 116.94 at market open, gained 0.39 percent to 117.35. At the start of last week, the pair was above the 120 level. A weaker yen is a positive factor for exporters as it increases their overseas revenues when converted into local currency.
Australian miners were mixed, with Rio Tinto gaining 2.1% and iron ore producer Fortescue down 3.4%.
Energy plays traded mostly up, with Japan's Inpex erasing early losses to close up 0.5%, Japan Petroleum down 3.6% and Santos retracing early losses to close up 0.3%. Woodside Petroleum traded up 0.6%
Markets in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Seoul and New Zealand were shuttered for holiday
