Investing.com - Asian stock markets were broadly higher on Tuesday, as gains were inspired by a strong overnight performance on Wall Street, where the S&P 500 rose to an all-time high.
During late Asian trade, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.4%, China’s Shanghai Composite index tumbled 2.1%, Australia’s ASX/200 Index closed 0.12% lower, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index ended up 1.44%.
Asia was given a positive lead from the U.S., where the S&P 500 rose to a record high before paring some of those gains to end 0.6% higher.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei rose to a three-week high as traders continued to monitor movements in the currency market.
USD/JPY rose to a daily high of 102.61, moving off the previous session’s low of 102.15. A weaker yen increases the value of overseas income at Japanese companies when repatriated, boosting the outlook for export earnings.
Automakers Toyota and Honda saw shares rise 1.1% and 0.8% respectively, while index heavyweights Fast Retailing and Softbank climbed 1.5% and 4.1%.
Japanese megabanks were also higher with shares of the nation’s largest lender Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group gaining 2%, while Mizuho Financial Group and Nomura Holdings picked up 1.4% and 1.2% respectively.
Meanwhile, in Australia, the ASX/200 Index rose to the highest level since June 2008 earlier in the session before turning modestly lower as investors booked profits.
Atlas Iron erased gains to close 2.3% lower after the miner announced that it had swung to a profit in its first fiscal half.
Elsewhere, in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng fell to a two-week low as ongoing concerns over China’s property sector weighed.
Mainland developers Beijing Properties slumped 4.3%, Shenzhen Investment dropped 3.8%, while China South City Holdings retreated 5.5%.
Financial sector shares also contributed to losses with, China Minsheng Bank down 1.2%, while China Merchants Bank and China Citic Bank dropped 1.5% and 2.1% respectively.
Looking ahead, European stock market futures pointed to a lower open. The EURO STOXX 50 futures pointed to a loss of 0.1% at the open, France’s CAC 40 futures shed 0.2%, London’s FTSE 100 futures indicated a decline of 0.2%, while Germany's DAX futures pointed to a drop of 0.1%.
The European Commission is to publish its economic forecasts for European Union member states later in the day.
Across the Atlantic, U.S. equity markets also pointed to a weaker open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a loss of 0.05%, S&P 500 futures inched down 0.05%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a fall of 0.02%.
The U.S. is to release a closely-watched report on consumer confidence, as well as private sector data on house price inflation.