Asia markets were largely positive on Tuesday, despite an escalation in trade tensions between the United States and China.
In Japan, markets resumed business after a long weekend, as the Nikkei 225 jumped 325.87, or 1.4%, to 23,420.54. In the currency market, the Japanese yen sustained weakness against the U.S. dollar, trading at 111.94
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng restored 151.81, or 0.6%, to 27,084.66, even though tech giant Tencent remained down by 0.3%
In Korea, the performance of blue-chip stocks was mixed. Shares of Samsung Electronics were up by 0.8% and Hyundai Motor saw gains of 0.4% while Korea Electric Power Corporation slid by 1%
South Korean President Moon Jae-in left for Pyongyang on Tuesday for a historic summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, with the aim of mediating stalled U.S.-North Korea nuclear talks and to strengthen inter-Korean relations, according to Yonhap news agency.
Australia's markets fell, with the energy sector lower by 1.5%. The heavily-weighted financial subindex ended the trading day largely flat as AMP fell by 1.6%
Earlier, the Reserve Bank of Australia's minutes from its September policy meeting had highlighted that global tensions from trade policy presented a "material risk to the outlook."
The Australian dollar saw gains to $0.7194 U.S.
Analysts at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia suggested that if China decided to cancel new trade talks in response to the U.S. tariffs action, the dollar would likely recover most of its recent losses.
CHINA
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 recovered 64.51 points, or 2%, to 3,269.43
U.S. President Donald Trump will impose 10% tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports, and those duties will rise to 25% at the end of the year, according to a Monday announcement.
The White House removed about 300 goods from a previously proposed list of affected products, including smart watches, some chemicals and other products such as bicycle helmets and high chairs. Beijing has already warned that it will retaliate against the measures.
In other markets
In Singapore, the Straits Times STI index dipped 2.06 points, or 0.1%, to 3,139.34
In Korea, the Kospi index regained 5.97 points, or 0.3%, to 2,308.98
In Taiwan, the Taiex index dropped 68.4 points, or 0.6%, to 10,760.21
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 strengthened 44.24 points, or 0.5%, to 9,315.77
In Australia, the ASX 200 slipped 23.52 points, or 0.4%, to 6,161.45
