Asian Stocks Mostly Higher Tuesday

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- Asian stock markets were mostly higher Tuesday as concerns about Deutsche Bank's financial health eased and Japan's quarterly survey showed companies lowered their inflation outlook.

KEEPING SCORE: Tokyo's Nikkei 225 rose 0.8 percent to 16,730.06 and South Korea's Kospi added 0.5 percent to 2,053.83. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was down 0.2 percent to 23,545.08 while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.2 percent to 5,468.50. Stocks in Southeast Asian markets were higher. China's Shanghai Composite Index was closed for a holiday.

GERMANY: Concerns that Germany's largest lender may plunge into a serious financial trouble eased as investors hope that Deutsche Bank will be able to negotiate down the massive cost of settling a U.S. investigation into mortgage securities.

JAPAN: The Bank of Japan's quarterly Tankan business sentiment survey showed that Japanese companies expect consumer prices to rise 0.6 percent in the next year, lowering their inflation outlook, according to Kyodo News. That means that the central bank would have to do more to achieve its 2 percent inflation goal.

FED OUTLOOK: The latest U.S. data that gave investors clues about the timing of the Federal Reserve's rate hike was a manufacturing index. On Monday, the Institute for Supply Management said that its manufacturing index rose to 51.5 in September from 49.4 in August, indicating that U.S. manufacturing rebounded last month. But the ISM manufacturing index looked a bit mixed despite the expansionary reading as new orders and production at factories increased but employment fell.

ANALYST'S TAKE: "Solid manufacturing PMIs suggested expansion in September and bolstered the case for the rate hike," Alex Furber, senior client services executive at CMC Markets in Singapore, said in a daily note referring to the Purchasing Managers' Index. "In the short term, this may see the equity market cool somewhat as investors pull out of risk assets as the Fed is seen to be normalizing."

DATA WATCH: A number of economic reports are due out this week, culminating Friday with the government's monthly jobs survey. Strong jobs numbers might encourage the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates this year.

WALL STREET: U.S. markets finished lower in light trading Monday led by falls in real estate companies and utilities. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 0.3 percent to 18,253.85. The S&P 500 index lost 0.3 percent to 2,161.20. The Nasdaq composite declined 0.2 percent to 5,300.87.

OIL: Benchmark U.S. crude oil fell 26 cents to $48.55 per barrel. The contract closed 57 cents higher at $48.81 a barrel on Monday. Brent crude, the international standard, lost 17 cents at $50.72 a barrel in London.

CURRENCIES: The euro fell to $1.1200 from $1.1213 and the dollar rose to 102.24 yen from 101.78 yen.

(KA)