Asian Shares Climb Ahead of US Earnings

Asian shares rose on Tuesday, helped by a tech-fueled Wall Street surge and a recovery in Chinese markets a day after poor data raised investor fears about the world’s second-largest economy. The dollar was under pressure after poor manufacturing data in the United States dampened prospects of any interest rate hikes in the foreseeable future.

The Asian benchmark is still well off its level in late July, when a series of regulatory changes in China roiled markets. Japan’s Nikkei gained 0.56%. Chinese blue chips reversed early losses to rise 0.62% on Tuesday, a day they fell 1.1% when China reported gross domestic product growth slowed in the third quarter.

There were also gains in Hong Kong up 1.21% Australia, up 0.2%, and South Korea, 0.63% higher. U.S. stock futures, the S&P 500 e-minis, gained 0.08%. Overnight, the S&P 500 gained 0.34% and the Nasdaq ended up 0.84 while the Dow edged 0.1% lower, hurt by weaker factory data. In currency markets, the dollar languished near the bottom of its recent range against major peers on Tuesday, knocked back by weak U.S. factory data overnight and on market wagers of faster normalisation of monetary policy in other countries.

The dollar index slipped 0.13% and was last at 93.83 near its lowest level this month, losing ground on sterling and the euro, though holding its position against the yen. U.S. Treasuries took a breather in early Asia. Brent crude lost 0.42% to 83.97 a barrel and U.S. crude lost 0.24% to 82.24 a barrel. Gold gained slightly with the spot price rising 0.2% to $1,767.9 an ounce, though the metal remained well within its recent range.