Asian Markets Rise; Nikkei Outperforms After Returning from Holiday

Investing.com – Asian markets rose in morning trade on Tuesday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 outperforming its regional peers after returning from a holiday.

China’s Shanghai Composite and the gained 0.7% and 0.4% respectively by 10:25 PM ET (02:25 GMT).

The Financial Times reported that the U.S. was debating whether to roll back levies on $112 billion of Chinese imports, which cover some clothing items, flat-screen televisions, smart speakers and Bluetooth headphones.

Citing people familiar with the plans, Bloomberg said Chinese Xi Jinping might travel to the U.S. to sign the first phase of a trade deal.

In a keynote speech in Shanghai, Xi said China will “give greater importance to imports” and “continue to lower tariffs and institutional transaction costs.”

On the data front, the for October came in at 51.1, its lowest reading since February.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 0.4% even after data showed the city’s business outlook continued to drop in October amid political unrest.

The dropped to 39.3 during the month, the worst result since the financial crisis in November 2008, according to IHS Markit, which surveyed about 400 private sector companies.

Output fell to 32.3, well below the 50 level that separates expansion from contraction.

“The ongoing political unrest and impact of trade tensions saw business activity fall at the sharpest pace since the survey started over 21 years ago. Anecdotal evidence revealed that the retail and tourism sectors remained particularly affected,” Bernard Aw, principal economist at IHS, said in a press release. “As new orders continued to fall sharply, led by a record decline in demand from mainland China, firms were becoming increasingly pessimistic about the outlook.”

Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped 1.8% in morning trade. The Bank of Japan kept policy steady but tweaked its forward guidance to say it will maintain ultra-low rates for as long as needed.

South Korea’s KOSPI inched up 0.2%.

Down under, Australia’s ASX 200 gained 0.3%.

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