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Asian markets gained in early trading Tuesday following muted gains on Wall Street.
Investors awaited an announcement from Australia’s central bank later in the day, with investors expecting a 25-basis-point interest-rate cut.
Japan’s Nikkei NIK, +0.78% rose 0.7% as the national sales tax was raised by 2 percentage points, despite worries that it could derail the country’s economic recovery and bring on recession. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had previously postponed the hike, but said it had to be raised to cover rising health costs and national debt.
Markets in Hong Kong and mainland China were closed for a weeklong National Day holiday, celebrating 70 years of Communist rule in China.
South Korea’s Kospi 180721, +0.51% gained 0.4%. Benchmark indexes in Taiwan Y9999, +1.03% and Singapore STI, +1.15% rose about 1%, while stocks were about flat in Indonesia JAKIDX, -0.09% . Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 XJO, +0.22% advanced 0.3%.
Among individual stocks, SoftBank 9984, +2.43% gained in Tokyo trading, along with Toyota 7203, +0.96% and Nintendo 7974, +1.67% . LG Electronics 066570, -1.34% and Hyundai Motor 005380, -0.75% slipped in South Korea while Taiwan Semiconductor 2330, +2.76% rose in Taiwan. In Australia, Oil Search OSH, -1.78% fell.
