Asian Shares Mostly Higher As Tech Stocks Rebound

(RTTNews) - Asian stocks rose broadly on Tuesday as investors watched for a possible resumption of U.S.-Iran talks in Qatar to resolve differences over Strait of Hormuz and asset releases.

However, Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson, Esmaeil Baghaei said U.S. officials' trip to Doha had nothing to do with the Iranian delegation visiting the city and that no talks between the two sides were scheduled.

"Over the coming days, we will not have any negotiation meetings with the U.S. side at any level," he added.

The dollar index climbed above 101 in Asian trade after a slight pull back below the levels in the previous session.

Gold was marginally higher at $4,020 an ounce after dropping to $3,943 an ounce earlier on Fed rate hike jitters.

Brent crude futures fell toward $73 a barrel, paring gains from the previous session. China's Shanghai Composite index rose 0.50 percent to 4,094.40 after data showed China's official manufacturing PMI returned to expansion in June and non-manufacturing activity expanded for a second month.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index dropped 0.63 percent to 22,881.02 despite continued policy support from Beijing after China's central bank significantly boosted liquidity via its overnight reverse repo operations.

Japanese markets climbed as the yen extended losses to trade past 162 per dollar on expectations for a slow pace of interest-rate increases by the Bank of Japan compared with growing expectations of a rate hike by the Federal Reserve.

The Nikkei average jumped 0.86 percent to 70,062.32, powered by a rebound in technology shares and electronic component manufacturers such as Screen Holdings, SoftBank, Advantest, Tokyo Electron and Taiyo Yuden. The broader Topix index settled 0.32 percent higher at 3,994.76.

Japan's industrial output in May rose 0.5 percent from the previous month, government data showed earlier in the day. The jobless rate held steady at 2.5 percent in the month while housing starts rebounded more than estimated, separate reports revealed.

Seoul stocks reversed early losses to end sharply higher, driven by gains in the tech sector, with Samsung Electronics and SK Square both surging over 3 percent. The Kospi index closed 0.97 percent higher at 8,476.48.

Investors digested mixed economic readings, with South Korea's retail sales increasing 0.1 percent month-on-month in May after a downwardly revised 3.5 percent drop in the previous month, while industrial output declined for a second consecutive month on the back of a decline in chip production, separate set of data showed.

Australian markets ended lower, with gold stocks suffering heavy losses as bullion prices fell to an eight-month low below $4,000 an ounce.

Rate hike concerns also weighed on markets after the Reserve Bank of Australia's June 15-16 meeting minutes underscored persistent concern that inflation remains well above target.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 dipped 0.51 percent to 8,778.70 while the broader All Ordinaries index ended down 0.45 percent at 8,986.20.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 index rose 0.56 percent to 13,621.66 after a survey showed New Zealand business confidence surged in June while inflation expectations eased, raising optimism about the near-term economic outlook.

U.S. stocks rose sharply overnight, with a flurry of corporate deal activity and gains in tech stocks after recent selling adding momentum to the broader market rally.

The Dow rose 0.6 percent to set a new record closing high above 52,000 as weekend hostilities between the United States and Iran eased. The S&P 500 rallied 1.2 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite surged 2.1 percent to snap five-session losing streaks.