Asia markets were mostly higher on Tuesday following yet another day of record highs on Wall Street, as the U.S. and Mexico announced a new trade agreement.
The Nikkei 225 ended the trading day largely flat, closing at 22,813.47, with the country's shipping sector up by 2.3 percent while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index gained 0.6%.
Exporters advanced; Mitsui OSK Lines jumped 2.1%, while Nippon Steel rose 0.6% and Toyota gained 0.8%. Analysts warned that initial enthusiasm for the U.S.-Mexico deal is unlikely to last since tougher negotiations likely loom ahead with China and other trading partners.
Mainland Chinese stocks, meanwhile, closed in relatively cautious territory. The Shanghai composite ended the trading day down by 0.1 percent at 2,777.981 while the Shenzhen composite closed largely flat around 1,497.70.
South Korea's Kospi edged up 0.2 percent to 2,304.78 with industry heavyweight Samsung Electronics rising 0.54 percent.
The ASX 200, meanwhile, was up by 0.57 percent to close at 6,304.7 as the market Down Under continued its recovery from last week's political turmoil. Vitamin maker Blackmores' stock soared as it ended the trading day up by 11.53 percent after the company earlier reported a 18.6 percent rise in its full-year profit.
New Zealand’s NSX-50 ticked up 0.1% to another record in a session that was shortened because of data problems.
