Most markets in Asia rose on Tuesday, as oil prices advanced and gaming shares across the region retraced much of Monday's losses.
The Nikkei 225 Index gained 63.49 points, or 0.4%, to 16,963.61
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index recovered 356.85 points, or 1.6%, to 23,394.39
Fast Retailing shares, which are heavily weighted in the Nikkei index, added 2%, likely offsetting losses.
The Japanese yen weakened in the afternoon session, trading at 104.05 against the U.S. dollar as of late afternoon local time, after reaching an earlier session high of 103.65, which had pressured some export stocks.
Major exporters closed mostly higher; Honda retraced losses of more than 0.5% from early trade to rise 0.7% while Nissan gained 0.3%. Sony shares climbed 1.3%, while Sharp advanced 1.4% Toyota shares, on the other hand, closed down 0.7%
Shares of Crown Resorts — one of Australia's biggest casino companies — closed up 1.7% at 11.34 Australian dollars, after falling 13.9% in the previous session, which dragged other gaming stocks in the region on Monday.
Monday's drop followed reports that 18 of Crown's employees, including the executive vice president of the VIP international business, Jason O'Connor, were detained by Chinese authorities.
Hong Kong-listed gaming shares also advanced on Tuesday, after Monday's declines. Wynn Macau shares were up 3.8% in late-afternoon trade, Melco International added 3.7% and Galaxy Entertainment was higher by 3.2%
Shares of Crown rival Star Entertainment, however, closed down 0.5% on Tuesday.
The dollar weakness saw the Australian dollar trade higher at $0.7686 on Tuesday evening local time, compared with levels below $0.7600 in the previous session.
Earlier in the day, Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Philip Lowe spoke at an investment conference, where he outlined the reasons for low inflation globally including excess capacity, perceptions of reduced pricing power and commodity prices. He added that the RBA's monetary policy framework allowed for flexible inflation targeting.
Energy plays in the region were mixed, with Santos shares closing up 1.1%, Oil Search higher by 1.1%and South Korea's S-Oil higher by 2%. Hong Kong-listed shares of CNOOC were up 2.3% late afternoon, while Sinopec was higher by 2.1% On the other hand, shares of Japan's Inpex fell 0.8%, while Japan Petroleum was down 0.7%.
Data from Statistics New Zealand showed the consumer price index (CPI) was up 0.2% on-quarter in the third quarter, while economists had expected the CPI to remain unchanged. The annual inflation rate came in at 0.2%, compared with 0.4% in the previous quarter.
In other markets
The CSI 300 regained 43.45 points, or 1.3%, to 3,321.33
In Korea, the Kospi moved up 12.82 points, or 0.6%, to 2,040.43
The Straits Times Index in Singapore added 13.56 points, or 0.5%, to 2,830.63
In Taiwan, the Taiex Index strengthened 46.36 points, or 0.5%, to 9,222.58
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 fell 93.27 points, or 1.3%, to 6,973.09
In Australia, the ASX 200 restored 22.07 points, or 0.4%, to 5,410.75
