British News Agency

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index gained 0.54%, while the Topix index rose 0.44%. Financials, energy and basic materials led the gains. Among the top performers in the Nikkei 225 was industrial robot maker Fanuc, rising 5.86%. NGK Insulators, which produces diesel particulate filters, climbed up to 6%, while electrical equipment manufacturer Fujikura gained 2.29%.

Amid increasing speculation that the Bank of Japan may raise interest rates this month, the yield on 10-year Japanese government bonds rose to 1.88%, the highest level since June 2008.

Meanwhile, the yield on 20-year Japanese government bonds rose to 2.915%, the highest since 1999, and the 30-year bond yield hit an all-time high of 3.411%. Australia’s ASX/S&P 200 index gained 0.12%.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index gained 0.49% at the open, while mainland China’s CSI 300 fell 0.17%. Shares of Alibaba Group gained around 3%, rising for a third consecutive day after the tech giant launched its Quark AI smart glasses in China on November 27.

India’s Nifty 50 index opened down 0.22%, while the BSE Sensex fell 0.37%. Bajaj Housing Finance was among the biggest losers in the Nifty 50, falling more than 8% after parent company Bajaj Finance announced it had sold 2% of its stake in the subsidiary.

Shares of South Korean automakers rose on Tuesday after U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick confirmed that the reduced 15% U.S. tariff on Korean cars would be applied retroactively from November 1.

According to a U.S. Commerce Department post on X, Lutnick said: “We are also removing tariffs on aircraft parts and will ‘adjust’ Korea’s reciprocal rate to bring it in line with Japan and the EU.”

Automakers Hyundai Motor and Kia Corp rose about 5% and 3%, respectively. South Korea’s Kospi index gained 1.02%, while the small-cap Kosdaq index fell 0.13%.

South Korea’s headline inflation for November rose 2.4% year-on-year, exceeding economists’ expectations of 2.35% in a Reuters poll. Core inflation, excluding fresh food and energy, rose 2% from a year earlier.

The figure matched October’s inflation rate and supports the central bank’s decision to keep interest rates unchanged. The Bank of Korea kept its policy rate at 2.5% for the fourth consecutive time last Thursday.