Japan markets lead as Wall Street touches record highs

Stocks in Asia edged higher Tuesday morning following record closes overnight on Wall Street.

Shares in Japan led the region following a return from a Monday holiday. The Nikkei 225 jumped 1.42%, while the Topix index added 1.11%. Shares of index heavyweight Softbank Group surged 2.98%.

Mainland Chinese stocks nudged higher in early trade, with the Shanghai composite and Shenzhen composite up fractionally. The Shenzhen component added 0.17%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was also slightly higher.

A private survey of China's services sector showed activity slowing to a eight month low in October. The Caixin/Markit services Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for October came in at 51.1 — its lowest reading since February. The 50-point level separates expansion from contraction in PMI readings.

In South Korea, the Kospi was 0.12% higher. Meanwhile, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.13%. The Reserve Bank of Australia is expected to announce its decision on interest rates later on Tuesday at 11:30 a.m. HK/SIN.

Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index traded 0.1% higher.

All three major U.S. indexes touched record highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 114.75 points to close at 27,462.11 — its first all-time high since mid-July. The S&P 500 also added 0.4% to finish at a fresh all-time high of 3,078.27. The Nasdaq advanced 0.6% to close at 8,433.20, also reaching record levels.

On the trade front, China said Friday it reached a consensus with the U.S. in principle following talks last week. Last month, U.S. President Donald Trump said both sides had come to a "very substantial phase one" trade agreement that is expected to be signed later in November.

The two economic powerhouses have been locked in a trade war that has lasted for more than a year and seen tariffs being slapped on billions of dollars worth of each other's goods.

Currencies and oil

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 97.549 after rising from levels around 97.2 yesterday.

The Japanese yen, often seen as a safe-haven currency in times of market uncertainty and turmoil, traded at 108.72 per dollar after weakening from levels below 108.5 in the previous session. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.6883 after slipping from the $0.692 handle yesterday.

Oil prices declined in the morning of Asian trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures slipping 0.14% to $62.04 per barrel. U.S. crude futures also shed 0.23% to $56.41 per barrel.

What's on tap:

• Australia: Reserve Bank of Australia interest rate decision at 11:30 a.m. HK/SIN
• Japan earnings: Suzuki Motor

— CNBC's Fred Imbert contributed to this report.

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