China, Australia stocks end higher for the first time in three days

Australia and China stocks closed higher Tuesday for the first time in three days, while the New Zealand dollar weakened following an inflation reading, the first since the elections over the weekend.

The minutes from the Reserve Bank of Australia detailed the central bank’s rationale for holding its benchmark lending rates at 4.1% during its October monetary policy meeting, the fourth straight month that it has kept rates unchanged.

New Zealand’s inflation rate hit a two-year low, coming in at 5.6% in the third quarter and down from 6% in the previous quarter.

China is set to report third-quarter gross domestic product on Wednesday along with other economic data points. Economists expect third-quarter GDP growth of 4.4%, according to a Reuters poll.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 closed 0.42% higher at 7,056.10, snapping a three day losing streak, while the kiwi dollar weakened 0.39%.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 rebounded and gained 1.2%, closing at 32,040.29 and leading gains in Asia. The Topix meanwhile advanced 0.82% to end at 2,292.08.

South Korea’s markets also reversed losses from Monday, with the Kospi adding 0.98% to close at 2,460.17 and the Kosdaq rising 1.21% to 820.38.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 0.79% in the final hour of trading, while mainland Chinese markets ended the session 0.35% at 3,639.40.

Overnight in the U.S., all three major indexes gained, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average higher by 0.93% and marking its best day since September. The S&P 500 climbed 1.06%, while the Nasdaq Composite added 1.2%.

— CNBC’s Samantha Subin and Alex Harring contributed to this report.