Investing.com - Asian shares showed some gains in morning trade on Tuesday ahead of a rate announcement by the Reserve Bank of Australia, but in subdued trade with three of the region's largest markets -- Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea -- closed for public holidays.
Australian stocks moved higher on Tuesday while Chinese stocks were little moved in early trade.
The S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.3% in Sydney. Although Australia's central bank is expected to keep its official cash rate steady at a record low of 2.5%, the focus will be on comments by Governor Glenn Stevens on inflation. The Shanghai Composite gained 0.47% in morning trade.
In company news, Westpac gained after a quality first-half performance on strengthening credit growth and improving non-net interest income and contained costs.
Overnight, the Dow 30 rose 0.11%, the S&P 500 index rose 0.19%, while the NASDAQ Composite Composite index rose 0.34%.
Cheery numbers out of the U.S. service sector painted a picture of an economy that continues to recover and will bolster corporate fundamentals moving forward.
In a report, the Institute of Supply Management said its non-manufacturing purchasing managers' index rose to a five-month high of 55.2 in April, from a reading of 53.1 in March, beating expectations for a rise to 54.1.
The numbers offset Ukrainian tensions and soft Chinese data.
In Ukraine, conflict between the government and pro-Russian separatists grew more widespread and intensified over the weekend, which rattled nerves on Wall Street due to concerns Washington will get dragged deeper into the chaos and stifle recovery.
Elsewhere, soft output data out of China capped gains somewhat.
A final reading of China’s HSBC manufacturing purchasing managers’ index came in at 48.1 April, down from a preliminary estimate of 48.3 and missing forecasts for an uptick to 48.4. A reading below 50 indicates a contraction.
After the close of European trade, the DJ Euro Stoxx 50 rose 0.20%, France's CAC 40 fell 0.10%, while Germany's DAX fell 0.28%. Meanwhile in the U.K., markets were closed due to holiday.