Asia Mixed After Xi Comments

Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed Tuesday, a day after Chinese President Xi Jinping signaled support to the country’s private sector and urged businesses to “show their “talents.”In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index gained 96.15 points, or 0.3%, to 39,270.40. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index leaped 360.58 points, or 1.6%, to 22,976.81, reversing course from the losses in the previous session after Xi’s comments in a rare closed-door symposium.Australia markets took a step backwards after the Reserve Bank of Australia cut rates by 25 basis points to 4.1%, in line with Reuters’ estimates. This marks the RBA’s first rate cut in over four years.The Australian dollar had weakened marginally by 0.02% to 0.6354 against the U.S. dollar.The yields on Australian 10-year government bonds have dropped nearly 20 basis points since Jan. 13 to 4.450% on TuesdaySingapore’s first budget with Lawrence Wong as prime minister is currently being tabled in the parliament.In other marketsThe CSI 300 in mainland China settled 34.62, or 0.9% to 3,912.78In Taiwan, the Taiex index climbed 160.78 points, or 0.7%, to 23,666.11.In Singapore, the Straits Times index took on 20.71 points, or 0.5%, to 3,925.56In Korea, the Kospi index notched higher 16.39 points, or 0.6%, to 2,626.81.In New Zealand, the NZX 50 faded 17.81 points, or 0.1%, to 13,051.13In Australia, the ASX 200 shed 56.10 points, or 0.7%, to 8,481.01.