Asian markets advanced on Tuesday, after stateside indexes recorded their second day of gains following last week's losses. In Japan, the benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 0.46 percent as markets resumed trade following a long weekend. Automakers traded mixed in the afternoon, with Toyota slipping 1.26 percent. Financials, which were in positive territory in the early going, gave up gains to trade lower, with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group shedding 0.76 percent. Among other blue chips, Fanuc Manufacturing rose 0.76 percent and Fast Retailing was higher by just 0.05 percent. Across the Korean Strait, the Kospi advanced 1.05 percent. Gains were driven by strong showings from tech heavyweights Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, which surged 4.68 percent and 3.89 percent, respectively. Automakers were mixed: Hyundai Motor slipped 0.32 percent while Kia Motors slid 0.91 percent. Manufacturing names traded mostly lower. Steelmaker Posco slipped 1.24 percent and Hyundai Steel lost 0.95 percent. LG Chem lost early gains to slide 1.21 percent. Down Under, the S&P/ASX 200 edged up 0.61 percent as earnings season rolled on. The materials sector was among the best-performers in the morning, while the heavily-weighted financials sector edged higher by 0.41 percent. Meanwhile, National Australia Bank's business conditions index rose in January, indicating strong business activity in the country. The index stood at +19 index points for the month, above the long-run average of +5 index points, NAB said. Greater China markets were also buoyant. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 2.18 percent as markets clawed back gains after falling into correction territory last week. Tech shares were mostly higher, with index heavyweight Tencent extending gains and climbing 2.83 percent. Financials traded firmly in positive territory: HSBC gained 1.26 percent and China Construction Bank advanced 246 percent. Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing was up 3.72 percent after the appointment of two new board members. Property developers were also in the money, with China Evergrande Group up 6.12 percent. HNA Group unit Hong Kong International Construction Investment Group jumped 8.53 percent after it said it would sell two plots of land to Henderson Land Development for almost 16 billion Hong Kong dollars ($2.05 billion). Henderson shares were up 1.33 percent. Trading volumes were lighter than usual, with southbound trading on the stock connect closed, ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday. On the mainland, the Shanghai composite tacked on 1.8 percent and the Shenzhen composite gained 1.34 percent. Indian markets will be closed on Tuesday for a holiday. U.S. markets on Monday continued their rebound from what was their worst week in two years, with major stock indexes recording gains of more than 1 percent. Last week's sell-off, initially triggered by concerns over rising interest rates, saw the Dow and S&P 500 lose 5.2 percent on the week. The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note touched a fresh four-year high in the last session. The 10-year Treasury yield stood at 2.85 percent after rising as high as 2.9 percent overnight. Investors also digested the release of the Trump administration's $200 billion infrastructure plan. Honda Motor will recall around 350,000 cars in China due to an engine-related problem, Reuters reported. No accidents had been tied to the issue, Reuters said, citing Honda representatives. Honda shares were off by 0.34 percent. Meanwhile, China's Fosun is poised to buy a majority stake in French fashion house Lanvin, Reuters said, citing sources. Fosun shares were up 2.49 percent. Elsewhere, shares of CapitaLand were up 2.02 percent after the developer announced Tuesday its post-tax profit for 2017 rose 30.3 percent to 1.55 billion Singapore dollars ($1.17 billion). Fourth-quarter post-tax profit declined 37.8 percent to S$267.7 million ($202.1 million). In currencies, the greenback steadied after paring some of last week's gains overnight as U.S. stocks rebounded. The dollar index, which tracks the U.S. currency against a basket of peers, was stable at 90.095 at 12:18 p.m. HK/SIN. Against the yen, the dollar pulled back to trade at 108.50, extending losses seen in the last session. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Tuesday he was not yet decided on who would be the next governor of the Bank of Japan, Reuters reported. Finance minister Taro Aso said that the individual would have to be fluent in English. Media reports last week indicated current governor Haruhiko Kuroda would be re-appointed when his term ends in April, the news agency said, citing a source. Meanwhile, the euro was mostly stable at $1.2297, after trading as high as $1.2307 earlier. Oil prices edged up after finishing the previous session little changed. Brent crude futures added 0.62 percent to trade at $62.98 per barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate tacked on 0.59 percent at trade $59.64. Source: CNBC
