Asia Rallies as Trade Fears Ease

Asian stocks rallied as concerns over a potential trade war faded on Tuesday, with gains in the region led by Japan's benchmark index.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 ended a four-day losing streak with flair, leaping 375.67 points, or 1.8%, to 21,417.76, with the U.S. dollar extending gains against the yen as trade-related fears abated. The dollar fetched 106.31 yen midday after falling as low as 105.34 in the overnight session.

Exporters gained on the firmer dollar, with automakers, technology and manufacturers higher for the most part. Other large caps also recorded significant gains, with Fast Retailing up 3%

In individual stocks, Japan's Kobe Steel rose 0.6%The company's Chief Executive Officer Hiroya Kawasaki is slated to step down after a data falsification scandal that erupted last year.

The Hang Seng Index popped 624.34 points, or 2.1%, to 30,510.73, after the index slipped below the 30,000 level in the last session.

Shares of Tencent, the most heavily weighted stock on the index, were up 2.8%, as other large caps also put in a strong showing. Insurer AIA rose 2.2% and China Construction Bank tacked on 1.4%.

Meanwhile, energy-related stocks and oil producers in the region rose as oil prices held onto gains after settling 2.2% higher in the last session. Australia's Woodside Petroleum went up 1.6% and Japan's JXTG Holdings advanced 4%, while shares of CNOOC listed in Hong Kong popped 4.4%.

There were also improvements in South Korea, with gains seen across sectors, including chipmakers. Tech heavyweight Samsung Electronics jumped 3.8% and SK Hynix was up 5.2%.

Things were shaking in Australia, with all 12 of its sub-indexes trading in positive territory.

The energy and materials sectors were among the best-performing sectors, rising 1.8% each, while the heavily weighted financials sub-index gained 0.9%

Meanwhile, the Australian dollar last traded at $0.7778 U.S., above Monday's close of $0.7761. Reactions in the currency to the Reserve
Bank of Australia's decision to hold rates steady, a move widely expected by markets, was fairly muted.

In other markets

The CSI 300 gained 48.46 points, or 1.2%, to 4,066.56

In Taiwan, the Taiex vaulted 141.44 points, or 1.3%, to 10,784.34

In Korea, the Kospi improved 36.35 points, or 1.5%, to 2,411.41

In Singapore, the Straits Times Index regained 53.31 points, or 1.6%, to 3,491.92

In New Zealand, the NZX 50 picked up 47.83 points, or 0.6%, to 8,327.66

The ASX 200 surged 67.41 points, or 1.1%, to 5,962.44