Shares in Asia-Pacific were mostly higher on Tuesday, as Hong Kong-listed shares of Alibaba soared after the firm announced an upsizing of its share repurchase program from $15 billion to $25 billion.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 returned to trading after taking Monday off, with a gain of 396.68 points, or 1.5%, to 27,224.11.
The Japanese yen traded at 120.43 per U.S. dollar, weaker than levels below 118.3 seen against the greenback last week.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index was hoisted 667.94, or 3.2%, to 21,889.28.
By the Tuesday market close in Hong Kong, shares of Alibaba listed in the city were up 11.2%.
Meanwhile, shares of China Eastern Airlines in Hong Kong dropped 2.6% after the carrier’s Boeing 737 passenger jet crashed in southern China on Monday.
The Australian dollar was at $0.7401, largely holding on to gains following its rise from below $0.72 last week.
In other markets
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 let go of 3.45 points, or 0.1%, to 4,255.30.
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index lost 5.34 points, or 0.2%, to 3,350.17
In Korea, the Kospi index regained 23.95 points, or 0.9%, to 2,710
In Taiwan, the Taiex index faded 0.65 points to 17,559.71.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 grabbed 26.94 points, or 0.2%, to 12,204.69.
In Australia, the ASX 200 recovered 62.55 points, or 0.9%, to 7,341.10.
