Upwards on the Tokyo Stock Exchange – Down in China

There were mixed tones on the leading Asian stock exchanges in early Tuesday trading. By lunchtime, Tokyo's key Nikkei 225 was up 2.3 percent and the broader Topix index had risen 1.3.

In China, however, Shanghai's composite index had fallen by 0.3 percent, while the same in Shenzhen was hovering around zero.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was just below minus 2 percent.