Asia report: Solid rebound sends most markets higher

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 was up 0.69% at 22,662.74, as the yen strengthened 0.23% against the dollar to last trade at JPY 111.14.

The clear winner of the day in Tokyo was SoftBank, which leapt 6.54% after it reported a 29% improvement in its latest quarterly earnings report.

As a result, the telecoms sector lead the gains on the benchmark index, with most other sectors not far behind.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite surged 2.74% to 2,779.30, and the smaller, technology-heavy Shenzhen Composite was 2.75% higher at 1,495.05.

It was a solid rebound performance from Chinese markets, after a blue Monday in which investors reacted to the latest trade threats from both the White House and their own politicians.

South Korea’s Kospi was up 0.6% at 2,300.16, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong jumped 1.54% to 28,248.88.

Technology giant Samsung Electronics was among the leaders in Seoul, rising 1.97%, helping to offset losses seen among publicly-traded brokers and the Korean retail sector.

Oil prices were higher, with Brent crude last up 1.03% at $74.52 per barrel, and West Texas Intermediate rising 0.46% to $69.33.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.3% to 6,253.90, as the Reserve Bank of Australia satiated market expectations and stood pat on interest rates.

The materials and telecoms subindices led losses in Sydney.

Across the Tasman Sea, the S&P/NZX 50 was also down, falling 0.3% to 8,875.73, led lower by payment technology firm Pushpay, which was off 3.7%.

Both of the down under dollars were stronger on the greenback, with the Aussie last ahead 0.64% at AUD 1.3452, and the Kiwi advancing 0.09% to NZD 1.4839.