Japan's Nikkei 225 jumped 2.29 percent, or 482.02 points, in the early going, with the dollar extending gains against the yen as trade-related fears abated.
Asian stocks rallied on Tuesday, tracking gains seen in the US and Europe in the last session as concerns over a potential trade war faded.
Japan's Nikkei 225 jumped 2.29 percent, or 482.02 points, in the early going, with the dollar extending gains against the yen as trade-related fears abated. The dollar fetched 106.31 yen at 9:29 a.m. HK/SIN after falling as low as 105.34 in the overnight session.
Exporters gained in the morning, with automakers, technology and manufacturers higher for the most part. Large caps recorded significant gains, with Fast Retailing up 2.58 percent.
Over in South Korea, the benchmark Kospi advanced 1.46 percent in the morning, with gains seen across sectors, including chipmakers and steel producers. Tech heavyweight Samsung Electronics jumped 3.85 percent and SK Hynix was up nearly 5 percent.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index surged 1.57 percent after the index slipped below the 30,000 level in the last session. Gains on the mainland were smaller, with the Shanghai composite edging up by 0.15 percent and the Shenzhen composite adding 0.25 percent.
Elsewhere, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.37 percent, with all 12 of its sub-indexes trading in positive territory.
The energy and materials sectors were the best-performing sectors in the morning, rising 2.33 percent and 2.14 percent, respectively, while the heavily weighted financials sub-index gained 1.08 percent.
Asian stock indexes had closed lower for the most part on Monday as China's National People's Congress kicked off. China would work toward a growth target of around 6.5 percent this year, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said on Monday.
In individual stocks, Japan's Kobe Steel rose 0.81 percent. The company's Chief Executive Officer Hiroya Kawasaki is slated to step down after a data falsification scandal that erupted last year, Reuters reported, citing Nikkei.
Meanwhile, energy-related stocks and oil producers in the region rose as oil prices held onto gains after settling 2.2 percent higher in the last session. Australia's Woodside Petroleum went up 2.45 percent and Japan's JXTG Holdings advanced 3.94 percent, while shares of CNOOC listed in Hong Kong popped 4.62 percent.
US West Texas Intermediate edged up 0.22 percent to trade at USD 62.71 after settling 2.2 percent higher on Monday. Brent crude futures climbed 0.21 percent to trade at USD 65.68.
Trade war fears ease
Stateside, the Dow Jones industrial average gained after four straight days of losses, which came after Donald Trump's announcement last week that tariffs would be implemented on steel and aluminum imports.
Trump on Monday appeared to signal those tariffs could be open to negotiation, tweeting that the tariffs will not be implemented if a "fair" NAFTA agreement is reached.
The tariffs also encountered push back from Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan, who said he was "extremely worried" about the plan.
US stock indexes recorded gains of more than 1 percent, with the Dow closing up 336.70 points, or 1.37 percent. Elsewhere, European markets appeared to shrug off concerns over the prospects of a hung parliament in Italy, with the pan-European STOXX 600 gaining 1.04 percent.
The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of currencies, slipped to trade at 89.906 at 9:30 a.m. HK/SIN after climbing above the 90 handle in the last session.
Meanwhile, the Australian dollar edged up to trade at $0.7785 from Monday's close of USD 0.7761 ahead of the Reserve Bank of Australia's interest rates decision at 11:30 a.m. HK/SIN. Most expect the central bank to hold rates steady.
"[T]raders shouldn't expect much from the central bank as there hasn't been any meaningful traction in the Australian economy over the past few months," Kathy Lien, managing director of FX strategy for BK Asset Management, said in a note.
