Investing.com – Asian equities were mostly higher in morning trade on Tuesday, tracking overnight gains in the U.S. as investors shrugged off the ongoing U.S.-China trade dispute.
Overnight, The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose about 0.2%. The S&P 500 gained 0.4%, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.6%.
Technology stocks outperformed, led by Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) as the company’s stocks rebounded from its sharp selloff last week.
Facebook stock rallied following a Wall Street Journal report suggesting the company had asked banks for data to help build out financial products. Reports citing some analysts said the move could help the company increase user engagement.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 traded 0.3% higher by 10:10PM ET (02:10 GMT). Softbank Corp. (T:9984) took center stage after reports on Tuesday suggested the company is considering an IPO for its domestic wireless business, which valuation could reach as high as $90 billion.
Reports citing people familiar with the matter said Softbank is now in talks with its advisers and the discussion are now in preliminary stages.
Meanwhile, China’s Shanghai Composite and the SZSE Component both rose 0.3% as investors await the country’s July trade figures on Wednesday. Analysts expect the country’s trade surplus to narrow to $39.1 billion in July from $41.6 billion. In addition, China will publish a report on foreign exchange reserves later in the day, followed by data on consumer and factory inflation figures on Thursday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index edged up 0.2%.
Elsewhere, South Korea’s KOSPI also gained 0.3%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 underperformed its regional peers and slipped 0.2% in morning trade.
In other news, reports that the Trump administration restored U.S. sanctions on Iran received some focus as President Donald Trump reaffirmed plans to impose more penalties on the country’s oil sales in November.
Trump signed an executive order to restrict purchases of dollar banknotes by Iran, preventing the government from trading gold and other precious metals and blocking the nation from selling or acquiring various industrial metals. The measures would take effect on Aug. 7, according to reports.