Asian Shares Mixed In Lackluster Trade

(RTTNews) - Asian shares fluctuated before ending mixed on Tuesday as investors awaited new tariff updates and assessed the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump's policies on global growth. Investors also reacted to rising Covid-19 cases across Southeast Asia.

The dollar drifted lower due to fiscal and trade jitters while gold eased from a two-week high and oil was little changed in Asian trade.

China's Shanghai Composite index slipped 0.18 percent to 3,340.69 despite industrial firms reporting faster profit growth in April. EV maker BYD fell 2.3 percent to extend losses from the previous session after announcing steep discounts across several models.

The yuan slipped against the dollar despite reports that the People's Bank of China has asked major lenders to raise the share of yuan when facilitating cross-border trade.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index ended up 0.43 percent at 23,381.99, reversing early losses ahead of upcoming China PMI data.

Moody's has affirmed China's A1 sovereign credit rating with a negative outlook but flagged risks from weak consumption and trade war volatility.

Japanese markets reversed course to end higher as the yen weakened and yields fell on super long-dated bonds ahead of a bond auction, with media reports suggesting that the finance ministry might issue fewer super-long bonds.

The Nikkei average rose 0.51 percent to 37,724.11 while the broader Topix index settled 0.64 percent higher at 2,769.49. Recruit Holdings, Sony and SoftBank Group all gained around 2 percent.

Seoul stocks ended lower as investors locked in profits from recent gains. The Kospi average dipped 0.27 percent to 2,637.22, with tech stocks falling on renewed concerns over the U.S. tariff policies.

Australian markets ended higher after a weak start. The benchmark S&P ASX 200 rose 0.56 percent to 8,407.60 while the broader All Ordinaries index ended half a percent higher at 8,631.50.

IT stocks, financials and industrial logged strong gains as weaker iron ore and gold prices weighed on the mining sector.

WiseTech Global jumped 2.2 percent to extend gains for a second straight session after announcing it would buy U.S.-based cloud logistics provider E2open.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P NZX-50 index edged up by 0.28 percent to 12,582.33.

U.S. markets were closed on Monday in observance of Memorial Day.