Asian markets mostly rose Tuesday, as a weakening yen lifted Japanese shares and higher oil prices boosted the energy sector.
The Nikkei 225 regained 236.94 points, or 1.2%, to 19,630.63.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng recovered 253.43 points, or 1.2%, to 22,264.25,
The regional rally follows a jittery Monday, when terror attacks in Paris drove investors toward haven assets like gold and government bonds, and out of riskier investments like equities. Many analysts predicted the market impact would be short-lived, given a pattern of resilience after past attacks in other major global cities.
Energy stocks rose in Australis, while in Hong Kong shares of state-owned energy firms like PetroChina Co. Ltd. and China Shenhua Energy Co. rose 2% and 2.1%, respectively.
Investors’ flight to safe assets slowed Tuesday, though the euro continued to weaken.
The euro weakened to $1.0659 U.S. midday in Asia, its lowest level since mid-April, before rising to $1.0661. It fell to $1.0649 U.S. in Europe. That compares with $1.0686 U.S. late Monday in New York.
Meanwhile, haven appeal of the Japanese yen, which reached its strongest level in a week against the dollar on Monday, quickly reversed. On Tuesday, the Japanese yen touched its weakest level in a week, last at ¥123.29 per U.S. dollar compared with ¥123.15 late Monday in Asia.
Investors also sold yen amid firming expectations of higher interest rates in the U.S., which drove U.S. Treasury yields higher and spurred expectations of a stronger dollar.
In Australia, higher oil prices helped energy producers recover from heavy selling last week. Mining giant BHP Billiton Ltd. rose 1.3%, a turnaround from last week when shares tumbled to multi-year lows amid a drop in commodity prices and the fallout of a dam burst at its jointly-owned Brazilian mine.
CHINA
The CSI 300 in Shanghai loosed 5.74 points, or 0.2%, to 3,758.39, amid losses in technology shares. That sector led gains Monday.
In China, a gauge of technology shares by Citic Securities fell 2.9%. Recently announced plans to re-launch initial public offerings, after a ban in July, has made some investors nervous about holding a relatively expensive sector.
Meanwhile, a gauge of defense-sector stocks on Shanghai and Shenzhen gained nearly 2%, after a selloff earlier in the week when Turkey canceled a $3.4 billion deal to buy a missile defense system from China. Shares of the sector are up 55% year-to-date.
In other markets
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index inched up 1.05 points to 2,916.78
The Kospi index in Korea improved 20.56 points, or 1.1%, to 1,963.58
Taiwan’s Taiex index ballooned 124.02 points, or 1.5%, to 8,419.42
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 restored 5.93 points, or 0.1%, to 5,967.60
The ASX 200 recovered 114.43 points, or 2.3%, to 5,118.24
