Asian stocks mostly higher as USD/JPY steadies; Nikkei up 0.66%

Most Asian stocks traded higher during Tuesday’s session as some of the region’s major bourses looked to snap multi-day losing streaks. 

In Asian trading Tuesday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.66% after dipping below the psychologically important 14,000 level earlier in the session.USD/JPY traded slightly lower, but hovered above the 101 level at this writing. Toyota, the world’s largest car maker, was among the winners in Japan Tuesday. 

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng inched up 0.08% while the Shanghai Composite fell 0.24% after Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said the world’s second-largest economy faces immense challenges as it opens its economy and that could lead to lower levels of growth going forward. 

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 0.1% as Australian stocks looked for their first winning day in six. AUD/USD continues to hover near 11-month lows as speculation over a possible near-term end to the Federal Reserve's bond purchasing program. 

Retail shares were among the laggards in Sydney Tuesday. 

New Zealand’s NZSE 50 fell 0.11%. A report released earlier Tuesday showed tourism is expected to account for 6.88% of New Zealand’s economy by 2017 up from less than 5.3% last year. 

Separately, the ASB Bank's monthly reading of economic activity in Canterbury showed the economic recovery there is gaining strength and becoming more broad-based. 

South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.39% after a South Korean official urged North Korea to take seriously upcoming discussions between the two rivals. South Korea is angling for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. 

Singapore’s Straits Times Index added 0.14%. S&P 500 futures rose 0.12%. U.S. markets were closed Monday in observance of the Memorial Day holiday.

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