Asian stocks were mixed Tuesday after Wall Street rallied, while oil prices recovered some of their losses following a sharp drop a day earlier.
Investors were also assessing the impact of last week’s joint intervention by the United States and Japan to support the Japanese yen, analysts said.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 0.3% to 63,585.58. The US dollar rose slightly to 157.51 yen from 157.18 yen, while the euro was trading at $1.1511, little changed from $1.1514.
The dollar had been trading around 160 yen before authorities stepped in to strengthen the Japanese currency after it had fallen close to a 40-year low.
Some analysts questioned how effective the intervention would be in the long run, saying it does not address the underlying economic factors driving currency movements, including inflation, interest rates and differences in economic strength.
A report by BMI, a unit of Fitch Solutions, said US backing gives the intervention stronger influence than action by Tokyo alone and could make speculators more cautious. However, it said the size of any US contribution would likely be limited.
Matthew Ryan, head of market strategy at financial services firm Ebury, said the latest move could have a greater impact because it appears to signal a broader change in monetary policy rather than a one-off effort to defend the yen.
"This is an historic and meaningful development for the yen," he said, adding that it has strengthened confidence in the currency’s prospects.
South Korea’s Kospi dropped 1.3% to 6,174.72, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.2% to 9,129.00. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng declined 0.5% to 25,881.99, while the Shanghai Composite edged up 0.2% to 3,802.61.
Investors also remained cautious about sharp swings in chipmaker stocks. Such shares have moved up and down in recent weeks amid concerns over whether strong revenues driven by the artificial intelligence boom can continue.
On Wall Street, stocks rose strongly Monday as falling oil prices eased some concerns about inflation. The S&P 500 gained 1.5%, leaving it just 0.1% below its record high reached earlier this summer.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 693 points, or 1.3%, to a record high, while the Nasdaq composite jumped 2.1%.
In early Asian trading Tuesday, US benchmark crude rose 84 cents to $81.18 a barrel, while Brent crude, the international benchmark, gained $1.15 to $84.92 a barrel.
Oil prices had plunged more than 5% a day earlier after US President Donald Trump said over the weekend that he had decided to delay new strikes against Iran following appeals from regional allies.
Brent crude prices swung between $72 and $102 a barrel last month as concerns about the Iran war and the movement of oil tankers through the Persian Gulf changed.
The yield on the 10-year US Treasury note fell to 4.68% from 4.75% late Friday. However, it remained well above the 3.97% level recorded before the war with Iran.