Japanese shares rose on Tuesday as energy producers climbed on the back of firm oil prices, while Australian stocks ended little-changed, allowing early gains to fade on concerns about Portuguese and Greek debt troubles.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 Index recovered 19.43 points, or 0.2%, Tuesday to 8,785.33
Trading volumes were quiet, with stock markets in Hong Kong, mainland China and South Korea among those closed for the Lunar New Year holiday.
Energy stocks climbed as benchmark New York crude oil futures hovered around the $100-U.S.-a-barrel mark in electronic trading in Asia, after the 27-nation European Union Monday said that it would block oil imports from Iran, citing concerns about Iran’s nuclear program.
Among the gainers, Inpex Corp. rose 2.2% and Japan Petroleum Exploration Corp. climbed 1.4% in Tokyo, while Woodside Petroleum Ltd. added 0.7% in Sydney.
Strategists at RBC said "headlines pertaining to Iran, which has labeled the E.U.’s embargo 'aggressive' and 'irrational' and warned that the embargo would have 'negative consequences' for Europe" were linked to some U.S. dollar strength late in the Asian session.
U.S. markets also offered Asian investors little direction, as shares on Wall Street closed broadly unchanged Monday, with Greece yet to announce a deal with its private creditors.
Greece and private holders of Greek government debt have been locked in talks over a voluntary restructuring to reduce the country’s debt load and interest payments.
The Bank of Japan Tuesday kept interest rates on hold at near-zero, noting that activity in the Japanese economy has "been more or less flat" due to a slowdown in overseas economies and appreciation of the yen.
Despite the thin trading, some notable movers emerged, with chip maker Elpida Memory Inc. jumping 4.6% after a Yomiuri Shimbun report that the firm is set to agree on an alliance with U.S. company Micron Technology Inc. and Taiwan’s Nanya Technology Corp.
Shares of Toyota Motor Corp. gained 2.7%. The auto maker announced late Monday that it would cut 350 jobs at a plant in Australia, in part due to the high Australian dollar.
Sharp Corp. fell 1.8% in Tokyo after an NHK report that it plans to enter the solar-power market.
Shares of Sony Corp. lost 2.4%, after a Nikkei report added details of a rumored tie-up between the tech giant and Olympus Corp.
Accounts of a possible Sony-Olympus alliance appeared Monday in the weekly business magazine Diamond, and the Nikkei said Tuesday that Sony could take a stake of between 20% and 30%. Olympus shares ended the day 0.7% lower.
In Sydney, some mining majors gave up early gains amid concerns over Europe, with BHP Billiton Ltd. slipping 0.4% and Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. dropping 1.6%.
In other markets;
Markets in Taiwan, Shanghai, Singapore, Seoul and Taiwan had the day off
New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index faded 26.85 points, or 0.8%, to 3,268.17
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index inched back 0.87 points to 4,224.23
