- Japan's retail sales declined 1.5% in February from a year earlier, according to a preliminary report released Tuesday by the country's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
- Shares of Nomura continued to see losses as they declined 0.66% on Tuesday. The firm's stock tumbled more than 16% on Monday.
SINGAPORE — Shares in Asia-Pacific mostly rose on Tuesday as investors watched movement in shares of Japanese financial services firm Nomura following their Monday plunge.
The Nikkei 225 in Japan rose 0.16% to close at 29,432.70 while the Topix index shed 0.78% to finish its trading day at 1,977.86.
Japan's retail sales declined 1.5% in February from a year earlier, according to a preliminary report released Tuesday by the country's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. That compared against a median market forecast for a 2.8% decline, according to Reuters.
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Shares of Nomura continued to see losses as they declined 0.66% on Tuesday. The firm's stock tumbled more than 16% on Monday after the company warned of a "significant loss" at one of its U.S. subsidiaries, resulting from transactions with a client stateside.
Meanwhile, mainland Chinese stocks were higher on the day: The Shanghai composite gained 0.62% to 3,456.68 while the Shenzhen component rose 0.851% to 13,888.44. The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was about 1% higher, as of its final hour of trading.
Elsewhere, South Korea's Kospi gained 1.12% to close at 3,070. Shares in Australia edged lower as the S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.9% to end its trading day at 6,738.40.
Money Report
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.4%.
Currencies and oil
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 93.041 as it largely held on to gains following its rise last week from below the 92 level.
The Japanese yen traded at 110.15 per dollar, still relatively weaker than levels below 109 against the greenback seen last week. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7636, off levels below $0.762 seen in the previous trading week.
Oil prices were lower in the afternoon of Asia trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures down 0.14% to $64.89 per barrel. U.S. crude futures shed 0.13% to $61.48 per barrel.
