Most Asian markets rebounded Tuesday as investors, encouraged by an overnight advance on Wall Street, sought out bargains after a string of losses.
In Japan, the benchmark Nikkei 225 stock index rose just 0.04 percent to close at 13,022. Hong Kong's blue chip Hang Seng Index rose 1.4 percent to 22,922.
Banking and financial shares remained weak in Tokyo, with Mizuho Financial dropping 1.4% and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance losing 6.4%.
Shares of steelmakers rose on reports Nippon Steel Corp. planned to raise prices by as much as 20%. Nippon Steel's shares gained 0.9%, while JFE Holdings Inc. added 1%.
Elsewhere:
South Korea's Kospi climbed 0.2% to 1,643.29.
Taiwan's Weighted index lost 1.6% to 7,553.30, as trading resumed for the first time in Taipei after the Lunar New Year holidays.
New Zealand's NZX 50 index advanced 0.1% to 3,574.84.
In Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 gained 1.3% to 5,608.10, bouncing off the low of 5,516.10 it touched earlier in the day.
with files from other services
