The leading Asian stock exchanges went almost entirely in different directions on Tuesday in a situation where investors are waiting for both Donald Trump's presidential inauguration and new American inflation figures, which will be published on Wednesday.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 and Topix indices had fallen significantly: 2.1 and 1.6 percent at lunchtime, respectively.
From Hong Kong, more cheerful tones were heard as the Hang Seng index grew by 1.4 percent.
It was also cheerful in Shanghai and Shenzhen, whose composite indices increased by 1.8 and 2.8 percent, respectively,
