The yen remained an outlier and within a whisker of Monday's 10-month low, which has traders on edge about the risk of intervention.
Over the weekend, China announced a halving in stock-trading stamp duties and had on Friday approved some guidelines for affordable housing.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng (.HSI) closed less than 1% higher on Monday and was 1% firmer in early trade on Tuesday.
On Tuesday in New Zealand shares in Tourism Holdings (THL.NZ), the world's largest campervan rental company, surged 13% after the company reported a record underlying profit.
On Tuesday, U.S. job openings figures are due, ahead of Friday's broader labour market data and the ISM manufacturing survey.
Persons:
Damian Rooney, Kazuo Ueda, Goldman Sachs, Ryan Felsman, Jason Xue, Sam Holmes
Organizations:
Nikkei, Argonaut Securities, HK, Bank of Japan, Tourism Holdings, New, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Thomson
Locations:
SINGAPORE, U.S, Asia, Pacific, Japan, Hong Kong, China, Perth, New Zealand, Sydney, Shanghai