This is CNBC’s live blog covering Asia-Pacific markets.
Asia-Pacific markets climbed Tuesday, after two key Wall Street benchmarks rose as investors awaited clarity on U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff rollout.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 was up 0.73%, while the broader Topix index added 0.91%.
Japanese markets fell into correction territory in the previous session, with the Nikkei 225 falling 4.05% to end the day at a six-month low.
The Kospi index advanced 1.44% while the small-cap Kosdaq surged 2.48%.
Mainland China’s CSI 300 started the day 0.01% higher while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was up 0.66%.
China’s Caixin PMI for March came in at 51.2, surpassing the 51.1 reading penciled by economists in Reuters’ poll, and slightly higher than the 50.8 reading in the previous month.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 pared gains to rise 0.42%, ahead of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s policy meeting later in the day. The central bank is widely expected to stand pat on interest rates at 4.1% as the country heads to the polls on May 3.
U.S. futures slipped as investors awaited clarity on Trump‘s upcoming tariff plans.
Overnight, two of the three key benchmark indexes on Wall Street ended the session in positive territory.
The S&P 500 clawed back earlier losses on to end the session higher. The broad market index added 0.55% to close at 5,611.85. At one point, it fell as much as 1.65% and traded 10% below its record.
The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.14% and closed at 17,299.29. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 417.86 points, or 1%, to settle at 42,001.76.
— CNBC’s Brian Evans and Lisa Kailai Han contributed to this report.
Hanwha Corp shares surge over 16% after chairman transfers 11.3% stake to sons
Shares of Hanwha Corp rose as much as 16.72% Tuesday, after the company’s chairman Kim Seung Youn transferred 11.32% of his 22.65% stake to his three sons on Monday.
The move is part of the chaebol’s succession planning and ensures continuity in the family’s control over the business.
Hanwha Group is South Korea’s seventh-largest conglomerate by assets, according to the country’s Fair Trade Commission.
Shares of Hanwha Corp’s subsidiaries also increased, with Hanwha Aerospace trading up 5.10% as at 10.40 a.m. local time, and Hanwha Energy advanced 9.04%.
— Amala Balakrishner
Spot gold crosses $3,130, hitting fresh record
Spot gold hit a fresh record high of $3,132.17 at 9.15 a.m. Singapore time on Tuesday, after crossing the $3,100 threshold on Monday.
The price of the precious metal has been on the rise as investors flock to the safe haven asset amid concerns around U.S. President Donald Trump’s fresh tariffs.
— Amala Balakrishner
Sentiment among Japanese manufacturers worsens
Business sentiment among Japan’s biggest manufacturers has worsened in the first three months of the year, responses in a central bank survey released on Tuesday showed.
The survey was compiled before U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement last week of a plan to impose tariffs on auto imports.
The headline index measuring big manufacturers’ business confidence stood at +12 in March, down from +14 in December, the Bank of Japan’s closely watched Tankan survey showed. This is the worst reading in the last four quarters.
Meanwhile, an index gauging sentiment among big non-manufacturers increased to +35 from +33 in December.
Big companies expect capital expenditure to increase by 3.1% in the current fiscal year ending in March 2026, compared with a 2.9% rise expected by Reuters, the survey responses showed. This is slower than a 11.3% increase for the previous fiscal year that ended in March.
— Amala Balakrishner
Japan reports unemployment of 2.4% in February, slightly lower than estimates
Japan’s unemployment rate edged down to 2.4% in February, compared with the 2.5% in the previous month, government data released Tuesday showed.
This is its lowest reading since December 2024 and is also slightly below Reuters’ poll estimate of 2.4%.
The country’s jobs-to-applicants ratio came in at 1.24, slightly lower than the 1.26 forecast by Reuters.
— Amala Balakrishner
Nvidia, Tesla, Meta shave losses, pulling market off lows
One factor helping stocks turn positive after steep early losses Monday was when three of the Magnificent 7 stocks came well off their lows.
Nvidia and Tesla had been down about 3% at one point but most recently were off about 2% apiece. Meta Platforms earlier was off 1% but had erased most of its losses into the final hour of trading.
However, the Nasdaq Composite, home to most of the market’s teach giants, was still off about 0.3%, while the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average posted solid gains.
—Jeff Cox
