Investing.com - Asian shares were mixed on Tuesday with markets focused on upcoming consumer price data in the U.S. and rising instability in Nigeria and Venezuela as low oil prices hit.
The S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.54%, while the Nikkei 225 gained 0.77%.
The Shanghai Composite Index however eased 0.37%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was
last up 0.02%.
The yuan rose marginally against the U.S. dollar on Tuesday after the People's Bank of China set the fixing stronger first time in three days at 6.5200 compared with 6.5343 previously.
Investors await Tuesday's release of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for April for further indications on the timing of the Federal Reserve's first interest rate hike in 2016. Analysts are predicting a mild increase of 0.3% in April CPI, in response to a 0.1% gain in March. The Core CPI Index, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, is expected to tick up by 0.2%. Since raising interest rates for the first time in seven years in December, the Fed has been hesitant to tighten its money policy cycle even further amid sluggish inflation.
Investors also kept a close eye on instability in Nigeria and Venezuela.
Reuters reported that Venezuela's state-run oil company PDVSA will honor all debt commitments this year while acknowledging the need for new debt restructuring in the coming months. Venezuela, which derives 95% of its total exports from oil, has seen its deficits soar amid crashing oil prices over the last two years.
In Nigeria, meanwhile, Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:NYSE:XOM) halted exports from the nation's largest crude stream in the wake of a wave of attacks by an insurgent militant group on oil pipelines in the Southern region of the country. Combined with other closures by Royal Dutch Shell A (NYSE:LON:RDSa) and Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX), Nigerian production has tumbled to 1.65 million barrels per day, its lowest level in more than a decade.
Overnight, U.S. stocks rose sharply on Monday rallying from their third straight week of declines last Friday, as oil futures hit 6-month highs and billionaire investor Warren Buffett's company Berkshire Hathaway Inc (NYSE:NYSE:BRKa) provided a boost to the major indices by declaring a major stake in Apple Inc (NASDAQ:NASDAQ:AAPL).
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 175.39 or 1.00% to 17,710.71, while the NASDAQ Composite index added 57.78 or 1.22% to 4,775.46, both paring some losses from last week. With the gains, the NASDAQ closed higher for the first time in four sessions. The S&P 500 Composite index, meanwhile, rose by 20.05 or 0.98% to 2,066.66, as all 10 sectors closed in the green. Stocks in the Energy, Basic Materials and Technology industries led, each gaining more than 1%. Stocks in the Utilities sector lagged, as interest-rate sensitive stocks fell while yields on the U.S. 10-Year soared by more than five basis points.