Investing.com Asian shares were narrowly mixed on Tuesday with markets in China shut for the week making for thin regional trade.
The Nikkei 225 rose 0.92%, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dipped 0.43%.
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) on Tuesday held its cash rate steady at a record low 1.50% as expected and signaled to markets that the economy continues to improve.
Earlier, Australia reported that building approvals rose 0.4% on month in August, below the 1.1% gain expected, while private house approvals fell 0.6%, compared to a 1.0% gain in July.
Major Australian banking stocks were mixed, with ANZ shares up 0.37%, Commonwealth Bank down 0.63% and the National Australia Bank off 0.46%.
Overnight, US stocks closed markedly higher on Tuesday, led by a surge in financials and health care stocks as investors continued to pile in equities amid bullish expectations of fourth-quarter economic growth.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed higher at 22,557.60. The S&P 500 closed 0.39% higher while the Nasdaq Composite closed at 6516.72, up 0.32%.
U.S. stocks started the final quarter of the year in impressive fashion as the rally in financials and health care continued amid signs that the U.S. economy is on track for a solid quarter of growth.
Goldman sachs, Citigroup (NYSE:NYSE:C) and JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:NYSE:JPM) ended the session more than 1% higher.
The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said its index of national factory activity surged to a reading of 60.8 last month, the highest reading since May 2004, from 58.8 in August.
That beat economists’ expectations of a reading of 58.
“l think what’s driving the market is just optimism about the fourth quarter, along with expectations that results from the third quarter will be similar to the second quarter,” said Robert Pavlik, chief market strategist at Boston Private Wealth.
A dip in energy, however, proved a slight drag on sentiment after crude oil prices fell 2% as fears over an uptick in global output resurfaced following data showing Opec increased production in September.
On the corporate front General Motors (NYSE:NYSE:GM) hit a record high after brokerage Deutsche Bank (DE:DE:DBKGn) said the carmaker could launch driverless cars on a large scale in 2020.