Markets in Australia and Japan traded mostly higher on Tuesday while many Asian markets were shut for a public holiday.
Markets in Japan returned after a long weekend, with the Nikkei 225 gaining 40.16 points, or 0.2%, to 22,508.03
The session in Asia followed a decline in U.S. stocks amid a pullback in the telecommunications sector.
The Japanese yen traded at 109.39 to the U.S. dollar.
Markets in Australia rose, with the heavily weighted financial sector gaining 1.4%. Major banking names gained more than 1% each.
Shares of ANZ rose 2.4%, Commonwealth Bank was up 1.9%, Westpac increased by 1.4% and the National Australia Bank added 1.7%
ANZ reported a rise in first-half profits that beat market expectations. The bank said its cash profit from continuing operations rose 4% to 3.49 billion Australian dollars for the six months to Mar. 31, compared to analysts' predictions of A$3.46 billion. That was helped by a fall in bad debt charges and lower costs, according to the news wire.
The energy sector was up 0.3% as oil stocks mostly gained. Shares of Santos rose 0.5%, Oil Search was up 1% and Woodside Petroleum added 0.6%.
The Reserve Bank of Australia left its cash rate unchanged at 1.5% in a widely anticipated move.
In its policy statement, Governor Philip Lowe said the bank predicted growth in the Australian economy to pick up and average above 3% in 2018 and 2019. Inflation is expected to pick up gradually and the central forecast for inflation is a bit above 2% in 2018.
The Australian dollar traded at $0.7538 U.S., declining from levels above $0.7600 in the previous week.
In other markets
Markets in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, Korea, and Taiwan were closed for May Day holidays.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 subtracted 7.61 points, or 0.1%, to 8,435.97
In Australia, the ASX 200 gained 32.5 points, or 0.5%, to 6,015.23
