Asian shares followed on the heels of their Chinese brethren, clawing back some lost ground as investors looked for bargains in metals stocks following the previous session's steep losses.
Japanese stocks nudged slightly higher in modest volumes. The Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo regained 16.35 points, or 0.2%, to close at 10,284.96.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index recovered 168.62 points, or 0.8%, to 20.306.27.
Shares of BHP Billiton rose 0.4% while Rio Tinto shed 0.4% in Sydney, Inpex fell 0.4% in Tokyo and Cnooc ended flat in Hong Kong.
In Australia, shares retraced some losses, even briefly turning positive, after minutes from the central bank's August policy meeting showed the board agreed the economic outlook had improved and laid out details of how the central bank will judge when to tighten policy.
Shares of James Hardie surged 22.3% after the company said its U.S. operations turned in a strong fiscal first-quarter result and it expected the operations would continue to perform well, guiding for full-year operating profits to come in at the top end of analysts' expectations.
CHINA
Shanghai’s 300 Composite Index gained back 31.72 points, or 1% of what it lost yesterday, to 3,171.99.
The bounce in Shanghai helped some other major Asian markets to end higher after falling into negative territory during the session. It seesawed through the session as analysts remained divided over the future course of the market.
Stocks which lost heavily in the previous session led Tuesday's rebound, with Yunnan Copper rising 5.6% in Shenzhen and Aluminum Corp. of China rising 4.2% in Shanghai.
Steel giant Baoshan Iron & Steel gained 3% after Nomura International upgraded the stock to buy from neutral, citing a better operating outlook.
Airline shares were in the spotlight in China and Hong Kong after Air China increased its stake in Cathay Pacific Airways. Air China fell 2.4% in Shanghai and 2% in Hong Kong, with Cathay stock rising 1.4% in Hong Kong. Shares of Citic Pacific, which agreed to sell a 12.5% stake in Cathay to Air China, dropped 1.3%.
Elsewhere:
Singapore’s Straits Times Index picked up 21.74 points, or 0.9%, to 2,567.72
South Korea’s Kospi index inched ahead 3.18 points, or 0.2%, to 1,550.24
Taiwan’s Taiex staggered another 142.03 points, or 2.1%, to 6,789.77
New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index faded 14.50 points, or 0.5%, to 3,071.58
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell back 6.80 points, or 0.2%, to 4,381.60
