Asian markets were mixed, despite slightly better-than-expected China data and a dovish speech from U.S. Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard.
The Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo gained 56.12 points, or 0.3%, to 16,729.04
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index dropped 74.84 points, or 0.3%, to 23,215.76, after a drop Monday of more than 800 points.
In company news, Samsung Electronics rebounded by 4.2% in Asian trade, after losses of 7% on Monday worth 16 trillion won ($14.3 billion U.S.), after reports that Samsung Group's de facto leader Jay Y. Lee will be taking a board seat. The South Korean company will also be selling its printer business to HP, in an acquisition deal valued at $1.05 billion U.S.
ASX-listed Fortescue Metals was up 0.9%, retracing much of an initial more than 4% jump, after the company announced it would repay $700 million U.S. of its 2019 term loan, and save on annual interest valued at about $26 million U.S.
Down under, Australia's August National Australia Bank (NAB) Business Confidence Survey showed that business conditions slowed for a second month, but confidence actually picked up after the central bank cut rates in August.
Shares of Japan-listed Softbank fell 1.6% on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank downgraded the stock to a hold rating.
The U.S. dollar/yen currency pair was trading at 101.94, falling below levels of around 102 from last week. The Australian dollar was trading at $0.7517 U.S., down from levels above $0.77 last week.
Overnight in the U.S., Brainard, who is a voting member of the Fed's policymaking committee, said she remained concerned about the impact that global difficulties would have on the U.S. economy and warned against hiking rates too soon.
The Fed has now entered a blackout period until the Federal Open Market Committee's (FOMC) two-day meeting on September 20-21.
CHINA
The Shanghai CSI 300 fell 2.27 points, or 0.1%, to 3,260.33
On the economic data front, China released better-than-expected August data, with fixed-asset investment growth holding steady at 8.1% on-year, August industrial output rising 6.3% on-year and retail sales increasing by 10.6% on-year.
The country is in the midst of a massive economic transition toward a more consumption-based and services-led economy.
In other markets
The Taiex Index in Taiwan lost 6.23 points, or 0.1%, to 8,940.83
The Straights Times Index in Singapore returned from a long weekend to dump 54.95 points, or 1.9%, to 2,818.38
In Korea, the Kospi index regained 7.88 points, or 0.4%, to 1,999.36
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 dropped 30.53 points, or 0.4%, to 7,249.23
The ASX 200 shed 11.83 points, or 0.2%, to 5,207.78
