Asian stock markets traded moderately higher Tuesday, as oil prices softened and traders assessed values in tech stocks after recent declines.
Brent crude oil futures traded down 2.9% to $87.95 a barrel, during Asian market hours.
Shanghai and Tokyo finished in the green, while Hong Kong closed flat. Other regional exchanges largely gained ground.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened lower on overnight Wall Street cues but rose to the close, finishing up 0.5% as tech issues again found favor. A same-day rally on Seoul's tech-heavy KOSPI index aided sentiments.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 328.34 to 65,856.43, as gaining issues outnumbered losers 138 to 82.
Leading the upside was Furukawa Electric, up 10.3%, while utility Tokyo Electric Power declined 3.4%.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index opened evenly and traded sideways, closing largely unchanged although property issues waned.
The broad gauge Hang Seng fell 6.23 to 25,511.10, as losing issues outnumbered gainers 50 to 42. The Hang Seng TECH Index lost 0.1% on the day, while the Mainland Properties Index fell 0.5%.
Leading the upside was Wuxi Biologics, gaining 7.4%, while online delivery service Meituan declined 6.7%.
On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite gained 0.2% to 3,889.44
On the other regional exchanges, the S. Korean KOSPI rose 0.7%; the Taiwan TWSE inclined 0.9%; the Australian ASX 200 inclined 0.7%; the Singapore Straits Times Index rose 1%, and the Thai Set declined 0.3%. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was up 0.4%.
The MSCI All Country Asia Pacific Index rose 0.5% on the day.
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