Most Asian markets gained on Tuesday, led by a jump in Japan shares, as oil prices steadied after Monday's initial drop on producers' failure to reach a production-freeze deal over the weekend.
The Nikkei 225 shot higher 598.49 points, or 3.7%, to 16,874.44, erasing all of Monday’s losses
The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong recovered 274.71 points, or 1.3%, 21,436.21
Japanese stocks were boosted by a relatively weaker yen against the dollar and as market players digested the extent of damage from last week's earthquakes.
Major Japanese exporters saw a rebound in their stock prices, with automakers Toyota, Nissan and Honda adding upwards of 4.5%.
Shares of Sony rebounded 6.5%. Shares of exporters, which typically benefit from a weaker yen, had tumbled in the previous session after reports said some manufacturers were affected by the earthquakes that struck Kyushu island in the south of Japan last week, causing sizable damage.
Reuters reported that Sony and Honda have said their affected production plants in the region will remain suspended for the time being.
Toyota said Sunday it would suspend production on its vehicle assembly lines in stages, between April 18 and April 23, due to supply shortages resulting from the quakes.
On Sunday, the world's largest oil exporting countries failed to reach an agreement in Doha, Qatar, to freeze output at January levels in order to tackle the global supply glut.
The deal's failure initially sent oil prices tumbling over 5% on Monday. The reversal came after reports said that a workers' strike in Kuwait had hit the gulf country's daily oil output. Reuters reported that the strike cut the OPEC producer's crude output by more than 60%, from about three million barrels per day to about 1.1 million.
Energy stocks in the region mostly rebounded Tuesday, with shares of Santos closing up 5.2%, Oil Search advancing 5% and Woodside Petroleum up 4%. Japan's Inpex advanced 2.7%
In the minutes of its most recent meeting, released Tuesday, the Reserve Bank of Australia said it was concerned about the impact of a rising Australian dollar. The RBA also noted that low inflation could allow it to cut interest rates further. At the April 5 meeting, the RBA had kept rates steady at a record low 2%.
Major Australian miner Rio Tinto cut its 2017 production guidance from its Australian iron ore mines due to a delay in its AutoHaul system - a fully-autonomous heavy haul, long distance railway system. In a statement to the ASX, Rio Tinto said production from its Pilbara operations is now expected to be between 330 and 340 million tonnes in 2017, compared with a previous guidance of 350 million tonnes.
For the first quarter of 2016, Rio Tinto's global iron ore shipments were at 80.8 million tonnes, climbing 11% on-year. Rio shares advanced 3.9% at market close.
In South Korea, the central bank kept its base rate unchanged at 1.5%, in line with what economists had forecast. The Korean won strengthened against the U.S. dollar, with the pair trading down 0.8% at 1,133.94, compared with the previous session's close at 1,143.38.
CHINA
The Shanghai CSI 300 index regained 9.85 points, or 0.3%, to 3,238.30, as Chinese mainland shares of Sinopec were up 1.4%
In other markets;
In Taiwan, the Taiex Index slid 32.29 points, or 0.4%, to 8,633.72
In Korea, the Kospi index eked up 2.26 points, or 0.1%, to 2,011.36
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index gained 34.06 points, or 1.2%, to 2,951.81
New Zealand’s NZX 50 moved higher 21.84 points, or 0.3%, to 6,873.04
In Australia, the ASX 200 recouped 51.76 points, or 1%, to 5,188.81
