TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares mostly rose Tuesday as markets shift their attention from the U.S. Federal Reserve to earnings and economic reports.
Regional markets also got a perk from signs China-U.S. relations may be improving, as the nations agreed to work together to smooth out economic relations, including business and trade.
“This sounds more like the kind of pragmatic and decisive breakthrough that is required. The proof will be in the pudding and only time will tell, but markets are correct to respond favorably to these developments,” said Clifford Bennett, chief economist at ACY Securities.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said she and her Chinese counterpart agreed Monday to exchange information on U.S. export controls and set up a group to discuss other commercial issues. That signals possible hopes about bilateral communication, but various conflicts remain, including over technology, security and human rights.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 edged up 0.1% in early trading to 32,209.67. Toyota shares dropped 0.6% in morning trading after 25 vehicle assembly lines at 12 plants in Japan got shut down over a problem in its computer system that deals with incoming auto parts.
Toyota spokeswoman Sawako Takeda said the company does not think the problem is from a cyberattack, but the cause was still under investigation, and it remained unclear when the lines would be back up.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 added 0.4% to 7,186.40. South Korea's Kospi edged up 0.3% to 2,551.81. Hong Kong's Hang Seng jumped 1.3% to 18,364.86, while the Shanghai Composite gained 0.3% to 3,106.59.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 rose 27.60 points, or 0.6%, to 4,433.31. The benchmark index is still on track to close out August with a loss.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 213.08 points, or 0.6% to 34,559.98 and the Nasdaq composite rose 114.48 points, or 0.8%, to 13,705.13.
Companies are wrapping up their latest round of earnings reports, which have mostly beaten analysts' expectations. Still, overall profits for the S&P 500 have contracted about 4% under the weight of persistent inflation.
Best Buy, Costco and Dollar General are among some of the bigger retailers that will report their results this week.
3M jumped 5.2% following reports that the company had agreed to a $5.5 billion settlement over faulty earplugs, a lower figure than expected. Boston Scientific rose 6% after giving investors an encouraging update on a study for a heart device.
Shares of Hawaiian Electric jumped 44.6% as the utility pushed back against accusations it is responsible for causing the wildfire that devastated the community of Lahaina.