Asia markets finished mixed on Tuesday, despite U.S. gains, as investors await a key speech from President Donald Trump.
The Nikkei 225 Index nosed up 11.52 points, or 0.1%, to 19,118.99,
The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong plummeted 184.32 points, or 0.8%, to 23,740.73
Trump is set to speak at a joint session of the U.S. Congress on Tuesday, with investors hoping for more details on the administration's plans for tax reform and deregulation.
Some exporters in Japan gave up early gains on the back of a stronger yen, which rose as high as 112.29 to the U.S. dollar earlier in the session. By late afternoon local time, the dollar/yen pair traded at 112.44.
Toyota shares finished down 0.6%, Nissan traded up 0.1% and Honda fell 0.3%, while Sony added 0.7%
Takata shares fell 0.2%, after the troubled air bag maker formally pleaded guilty to fraud Monday and agreed to pay a $1-billion U.S. penalty for concealing a deadly defect in millions of its air bags.
Samsung Group shares finished mostly higher despite news that South Korea's special prospector's office said it will indict Jay Y. Lee for his alleged role in a corruption scandal.
Samsung Electronics closed up 1%, Samsung SDI was higher by 1.6% and Samsung Engineering advanced 2.1%. Shares of Samsung C&T, however, fell 1.6%
Australian markets dipped, as that country’s energy sector gained 0.9% on the back of steady oil prices. The Australian dollar was at $0.7678 U.S., while the euro fetched $1.0596 U.S. and the British pound traded at $1.2427 U.S.
In other markets
Markets in Taiwan were shuttered for holidays
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 recovered 6.59 points, or 0.2%, to 3,452.81
In Korea, the Kospi index gained 6.12 points, or 0.3%, to 2,091.64
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index dropped 12.01 points, or 0.4%, to 3,096.61
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 ballooned 88.28 points, or 1.3%, to 7,167.46
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 doffed 11.96 points, or 0.2%, to 5,712.22
