Stocks in Asia mostly rose on Tuesday following record finishes overnight on Wall Street. Hong Kong-listed shares of Chinese tech behemoth Alibaba also popped on their debut, becoming the world’s largest listing so far in 2019.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 jumped 80.51 points, or 0.8%, to 23,373.32,
The Japanese yen traded at 108.92 per U.S. dollar after touching an earlier low of 109.19.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index backtracked 79.12 points, or 0.3%, to 26,913.92. Hong Kong-listed shares of shares of Alibaba surged about 6.6% on the day
Australian stocks gained. Shares of Westpac jumped 1.7% after the firm announced the resignation of its CEO and early retirement of its chairman. Shares of the lender have seen strong movements in recent days as the company is rocked by a money-laundering scandal.
The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.6776 after slipping from highs above $0.679 in the previous session.
CHINA
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 gained 13.44 points, or 0.4%, to 3,891.65
On the U.S.-China trade front, leading negotiators from Washington and Beijing held another phone call on Tuesday morning to discuss "core issues," China’s Ministry of Commerce said in an online statement.
Liu He, China’s top negotiator on trade, spoke with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, the statement said.
In other markets
In Taiwan, the Taiex recovered 15.24 points, or 0.1%, to 11,576.82
In Korea, the Kospi gave back 2.15 points, or 0.1%, to 2,121.35
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index dropped 12.78 points, or 0.4%, to 3,207.85
In New Zealand, the NZX soared 90.88 points, or 0.8%, to 11,044.55
In Australia, the ASX 200 acquired 56.12 points, or 0.8%, to 6,787.53
