It was upwards for leading stock market indices in China, but largely unchanged in Japan in thin "Christmas trading" during the initial hours on Tuesday.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index was up by almost 0.2 percent, while the broader Topix index was just above zero. Car giant Honda's share regained a small part of its large previous losses after confirmations of a planned merger with competitor Nissan and repurchase of shares.
In China, the composite index in Shanghai and Shenzhen was up, 0.7 and 0.4 percent respectively. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index stood at a plus of 1.2 percent, and in South Korea, the Kospi index was down by a narrow 0.1 percent.
