Asian stocks were mixed on Tuesday as the dollar remained soft amid uncertainty over U.S. President Donald Trump's policies and his withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal.
The Nikkei 225 Index dropped off 103.04 points, or 0.6%, to 18,787.99
The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong grew 51.34 points, or 0.2%, to 22,949.86
In Japan, Takata shares tumbled 6% to 439 yen each, recovering from earlier losses of more than 13%, on worries of court involvement in its Japanese business plans. Since last Wednesday's close, Takata shares have lost 49%.
The embattled airbag maker is in the process of selecting a financial backer as it faces heavy costs to replace approximately 100 million potentially defective airbag inflators that have been linked to several deaths globally.
Potential bidders for Takata favor a court-led turnaround of its Japanese operations, which is a strategy the company opposes
Among Korean stocks, Samsung Electronics was up 0.3% to 1,908,000 won each share, after it reported fourth-quarter operating profit rose 50% to 9.22 trillion won ($7.93 billion U.S.), in line with guidance, as record earnings in its semiconductor business outweighed the negative impact of its fire-prone Galaxy Note 7 models.
Samsung's revenue remained flat at 53.3 trillion won from the previous year, and it also announced a share buyback plan worth 9.3 trillion won this year.
LG Display fell 2.3% to 31,750 won a share, after it announced plans to sell its entire stake in LG Siltron for 620 billion won ($533.5 million U.S.). The LCD panel maker also announced early Tuesday that its 2016 operating profit fell 19% from a year earlier at 1.3 trillion won ($1.12 billion U.S.).
Major miners in Australia were all in the green, with Rio Tinto gaining 3.6% to A$64.76, Fortescue Metals up 5.4% at A$6.54, and BHP Billiton adding 2.5% to A$27.01.
In the broader currency market, the U.S. dollar also weakened against the yen, fetching 112.86, as the Australian dollar gained against the greenback at $0.7574.
Withdrawing from the TPP agreement was a promise Trump made in his presidential campaign, saying it would protect American workers. The 12-nation trade deal was negotiated by former President Barack Obama's administration as a key pillar in his pivot to Asia
The greenback fell against a basket of currencies, dipping below 100 intraday, a low not seen since mid-November, and inching up to 100.21 in afternoon trade in Asia.
In other markets
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 added 0.37 points to 3,364.45
In Korea, the Kospi faded 0.23 points to 2,065.76
The Straits Times Index in Singapore gained 16.47 points, or 0.5%, to 3,041.95
In Taiwan, the Taiex Index improved 23.9 points, or 0.3%, to 9,447.95
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 moved down 3.69 points, or 0.1%, to 7,064.16
Australia's ASX 200 hiked 39.13 points, or 0.7%, at 5,650.10
