Asian stock markets close Tuesday mostly higher

By Tuba Ongun

ANKARA (AA) — Asia's major stock markets closed Tuesday with gains, with the exception of China's Shanghai Stock Exchange.

The Asia Dow, which includes blue-chip companies in the region, gained 0.72% to reach 3,392 points.

The Hang Seng, the benchmark for blue-chip stocks trading on the Hong Kong stock exchange, increased 0.76% to 20,485, returning from a long holiday weekend.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 stock exchange rose 1.05% to 27,923 points.

China's Shanghai Stock Exchange, on the other hand, lost 0.05% to 3,313 points.

Inflation in China unexpectedly eased to an 18-month low in March, thanks to a slowdown in both food and non-food costs led by the country's reopening after a relax in coronavirus measures, according to data released on Tuesday.

Consumer prices climbed 0.7% year-on-year last month, down from February's reading of 1%, the National Bureau of Statistics said.

India's Sensex benchmark climbed 0.51% to close at 60,152, while the Singapore index went up by 0.19% to 3,297.83.