Asian stocks ended Tuesday's session on a mixed note as investors assessed political developments in Washington and awaited cues from the U.S. earnings season as well the minutes from the most recent Federal Reserve meeting due this week for direction.
The dollar treaded water on worries over North Korean provocations and amid diminished risk appetite after a top Republican senator sparred verbally with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Investors also kept an eye on developments in Catalonia as its President prepares to address the region's parliament on independence.
Chinese shares erased early losses to end higher after reports that the government is making efforts to restrain market swings before a key leadership reshuffle this month.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite index edged up 8.61 points or 0.26 percent to 3,382.99 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was up 164 points or 0.58 percent at 28,490 in late trade.
Japanese shares rose to close near their highest level in 21 years after the yen weakened over the weekend and Japan's current account surplus figures for August exceeded expectations.
The Nikkei average rose 132.80 points or 0.64 percent to 20,823.51 as trading resumed after a three-day weekend. The broader Topix index closed 0.47 percent higher at 1,695.14.
Canon, Panasonic, Toyota Motor and Tokyo Electron climbed 1-2 percent. Insurance stocks fell, with Tokio Marine, MS&AD Holdings and Sompo Holdings losing 3-5 percent. Kobe Steel shares plunged as much as 22 percent after the company admitted it had fabricated data for aluminium and copper products shipped to some 200 clients.
Seven & i Holdings rallied 2.5 percent on a Nikkei report that the convenience store operator was likely to post 6 percent growth in operating profit for the March-August period.
Australian shares gave up early gains to end marginally lower. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index ended marginally lower at 5,738.10 while the broader All Ordinaries index finished little changed with a positive bias.
Miners reversed early losses to end mixed amid signs of weakening demand in China. Banks also ended mixed, with ANZ and Westpac rising about 0.2 percent while Commonwealth slid half a percent and NAB declined 0.3 percent.
In economic news, the latest survey from National Australia Bank revealed that business confidence in Australia ticked slightly higher in September, with an index score of +7, up from +5 in August. The business conditions index came in unchanged with a score of +14.
Seoul shares rose sharply to hit 11-week highs as trading resumed after a six-day break. The benchmark Kospi climbed 39.34 points or 1.64 percent to 2,433.81, its highest level since July 27.
Market heavyweight Samsung Electronics jumped 3 percent on expectations that the tech giant will report record quarterly profits later this week. Chipmaker SK Hynix rose as much as 7 percent.
New Zealand's benchmark index NZX-50 rose 27.53 points or 0.34 percent to 8,037.81, a fresh record high with growth stocks like A2 Milk and Xero pacing the gainers. New Zealand electronic retail card spending rose 0.1 percent in September, while actual sales grew an annual 2.9 percent, official data showed today.
India's Sensex was rising 0.3 percent while benchmark indexes in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore were down between 0.1 percent and 0.3 percent.
Overnight, U.S. stocks fell slightly as many traders were away from their desks due to the Columbus Day holiday. The Nasdaq Composite slid 0.2 percent to end a nine-day winning streak while the S&P 500 and the Dow slipped 0.2 percent and 0.1 percent, respectively.
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April 17, 2026 15:29 ET The ongoing conflict in the Middle East continues to raise concerns for policymakers who worry about the impact of the supply shock and high energy prices on the real economy. Producer price data and various survey results on the housing market were the main news from the U.S. this week. In Europe, industrial production data for the euro area gained attention. GDP figures out of China and the policy move by the Singapore central bank were in focus in Asia.