Investing.com – Asian equities broadly traded in green in afternoon trade on Tuesday, with Japanese, Australian, Hong Kong and Chinese equities making gains while only South Korean stocks dipped. Meanwhile, the rising yields on 10-year U.S. Treasuries that climbed to a four-year high weighed on investor sentiment.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 0.80% to 22,264.00 by 1:38AM ET (05:38 GMT). Japanese stocks were supported by a weaker yen as the dollar moved up to its strongest level since March 1.
Asian equities were pressured on earlier Tuesday morning by a rally in the U.S. dollar, which hit a three-month high as yields on United States 10-Year reached 2.99% for the first time in more than four years.
Chinese and Hong Kong stocks rallied amid Beijing’s determination to achieve this year’s economic targets. The Communist Party’s politburo, China’s top decision-making body, pledged to open up the economy. The country also wants to promote healthy development of credit, stocks, bonds, currency and property markets.
Hong Kong shares were also recovering, with the Hang Seng Index climbing 1% up to 30,548.50, setting to snap a two-day loss. Tech stocks recovered, with heavyweight Tencent Holdings Ltd (HK:0700) adding 1%. The real estate stock Country Garden Holdings Company Ltd (HK:2007) that surged 5% was among the top performers on Tuesday afternoon.
In China, the Shanghai Composite and the SZSE Component both added 1.78%. The real estate and consumer sectors rose. Meanwhile, trade tensions between China and the U.S. are still in focus and are likely to remain a motivator for investors.
Down under, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.72% at 5,928.30.
The South Korea Kospi, however, was down 0.24% to 2,468.68. One company in focus on Tuesday was South Korea’s SK Hynix Inc (KS:000660), the second largest maker of memory chips in the world after Samsung Electronics (KS:KS:005930). Hynix released earnings on Tuesday that met market expectations with operating profits rising 77%. The company’s stock still dropped 2.73% on South Korea’s stock exchange.