Investing.com — Most Asian stocks reversed last week's losses and rose on Tuesday, although gains were tempered by hopes for further cues on key inflation indicators and U.S. interest rates.
A flat overnight close on Wall Street also provided moderate cues for Asian markets, with investors remaining wary of making big bets ahead of clues that interest rates will rise further. U.S. stock index futures were little moved in Asian trading.
All eyes were focused primarily on U.S. data for further clues on interest rates, especially as traders began pricing in expectations for a June rate cut following the bloat report.
Most Asian stocks have continued to fall sharply since last week, as growing concerns about the persistence of US interest rates led to a broader sell-off in risk-driven assets.
TSMC boosts Taiwan stocks on $6.6 billion US subsidy
It was by far the best performer in Asia on Tuesday, rising more than 1% on the back of a big rally in the index's biggest stock, semiconductor maker TSMC (TW:) (NYSE:).
TSMC soared nearly 4% to a record high after the world's largest contract chipmaker won a $6.6 billion subsidy from the U.S. government for its advanced chip manufacturing plant in Arizona. The chipmaker also increased its investment in factories by $25 billion to $65 billion.
Chinese stocks lag, but Hong Kong rises on promise of aid
China and the index lagged other markets in the region for the second straight quarter, as investors were largely cautious about the country due to weak risk appetite.
But Hong Kong indexes outperformed, rising 0.7% after the city's leader John Lee said authorities were considering further measures to boost the local stock market. . However, Lee did not provide specific details about what measures this would entail.
His comments came as Hong Kong stocks have been in a slump for the past four years due to the effects of China's economic downturn.
More Chinese economic data will be released this week, with and data expected to be released on Thursday and Friday respectively.
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average extends recovery but remains below 40,000 yen
Japanese stocks extended their recent rally on Tuesday, with the index up 0.6% and the broader index up 0.3%.
However, the Nikkei Stock Average remains below 40,000 points after suffering heavy losses last week due to a combination of profit-taking and pressure from the strong yen.
The yen weakened this week and edged back towards its 1990 lows as traders increasingly believed the Japanese government would not act on warnings of currency market intervention.
Asian stocks overall rose slightly or held steady. Australia's index rose 0.4% despite data showing weaker consumer sentiment in April.
In South Korea, the Bank of Korea began operations later this week, and the stock fell 0.3%.
Futures prices for Indian indexes opened flat, leaving the index vulnerable to profit-taking after it closed at a record high on Monday.
