• Asian shares hit 21-month highs on Tuesday while the dollar and U.S. bond yields were on the back foot on the prospect of a less-hawkish Federal Reserve policy trajectory.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS rose 0.4 percent to 21-month highs, with tech-heavy Seoul and Taipei shares .KS11 .TWII hitting two-year highs while Hong Kong's Hang Seng .HSI scaled 1 1/2-year highs.
• Japan's Nikkei share average fell to a 1-1/2-week low on Tuesday as financial stocks underperformed after U.S. yields fell, while index-heavyweight SoftBank tumbled.
The Nikkei dropped 0.3 percent to 19,455.88, the lowest closing level since March 9.
SoftBank Group Corp dropped 1.9 percent and contributed a hefty negative 18 points to the Nikkei index after the Wall Street Journal reported that the company scrapped a planned $100 million investment in a smartphone startup founded by the creator of Google's Android software, citing people familiar with the matter.
• China stocks closed slightly higher on Tuesday, but investors' risk appetite was restrained amid growing signs of tighter liquidity in the banking system.
The blue-chip CSI300 index rose 0.5 percent, to 3,466.35 points, while the Shanghai Composite Index added 0.3 percent to 3,261.61 points.
• Hong Kong stocks climbed to a near 20-month high on Tuesday, bolstered by continued inflows from Chinese investors and signs of global economic recovery.
The benchmark Hang Seng index rose for a fourth straight day, adding 0.4 percent to end at 24,593.12, its highest close since July 31, 2015.
Reference: Reuters, CNBC
Thai
Eng