Shares in Asia Pacific rose on Tuesday, recovering from sharp losses in the morning as investors awaited developments on stimulus to combat the impact of the global coronavirus outbreak.
The Nikkei 225 reversed days of heavy losses to gain 168.36 points, or 0.9%, to 19,867.12.
In response to the global coronavirus outbreak, governments within the Group of Seven nations are expected to announce stimulus measures. Japan’s Finance Minister Taro Aso said the country’s government is set to unveil a second package of steps on Tuesday to tackle the coronavirus outbreak.
The Japanese yen traded at 104.53 per U.S. dollar after weakening from an earlier high of 101.99.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index recovered 352.05 points, or 1.4%, to 25,392.51, with shares of Chinese tech juggernauts Tencent rising 2.6%, and Alibaba improving 3.4%.
Australia surged, as earlier during in the session, the benchmark had fallen into bear territory — defined as more than 20% off its 52-week highs.
The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.655 after touching an earlier high of $0.6613.
Investors continued to watch for developments on the global coronavirus spread as well as an oil price war that was triggered after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies failed to reach a deal on production cuts, and Saudi Arabia announced massive discounts to its official selling prices for April.
CHINA
The CSI 300 picked up 85.6 points, or 2.1%, to 4,082.73.
On the economic data front, producer prices in China for February fell 0.4% from a year earlier. That was worse than expectations of a 0.3% decline by analysts. Consumer prices for February rose 5.2% as compared to a year earlier, in line with forecasts by economists
In other markets
In Korea, the Kospi index eked ahead 8.16 points, or 0.4%, to 1,962.63
In Taiwan, the Taiex took on 25.9 points, or 0.2%, to 11,003.54
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index regained 50.17 points, or 1.8%, to 2,832.54
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 still lost 194.34 points, or 1.8%, to 10,987.48
In Australia, the ASX 200 rebounded 179.04 points, or 3.1%, to 5,939.60
