Stocks in Asia-Pacific were mostly higher on Tuesday as investors watched China’s August economic data released earlier in the day.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 gave back some of its Monday gains, losing 104.41 points, or 0.4%, to 23,454.89.
The Japanese yen changed hands at 105.72 per U.S. dollar after strengthening sharply yesterday from levels above 105.9 against the greenback.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng grew 92.48 points, or 0.4%, to 24,732.76.
Australian markets shrank marginally, as the Reserve Bank of Australia on Tuesday released minutes from its September meeting, where members noted that "the downturn had not been as severe as earlier expected and a recovery was under way in most of Australia."
Following the release of the minutes, the Australian dollar traded at $0.7315, as compared to an earlier low of $0.7265.
CHINA
The CSI 300 advanced 37.43 points, or 0.8%, to 4,688.48.
Retail sales in China rose 0.5% in August from a year ago — the first positive report for the year so far — according to the country’s National Bureau of Statistics.
Still, retail sales for the first eight months of the year were down 8.6% from a year ago, the bureau said.
Meanwhile, industrial production in the country grew 5.6% in August from a year ago while fixed-asset investment declined 0.3% for the first eight months of the year.
The onshore Chinese yuan strengthened to 6.7833 per dollar following the release of those data, as compared to an earlier low of 6.808 against the
In other markets
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index revived 3.28 points, or 0.1%, to 2.485.83.
In Korea, the Kospi added 15.67 points, or 0.7%, to 2,443.58.
In Taiwan, the Taiex index rose 57.83 points, or 0.5%, to 12,845.65.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 dropped 19.8 points, or 0.2%, to 11,770.75.
In Australia, the ASX 200 moved downward 4.69 points, or 0.1%, to 5,894.83.
