Investing.com - Asian shares mostly gained on Tuesday with Tokyo bucking the direction as investors look to a more definitive view on chances the Federal Reserve could hike interest rates as early as next month.
The Nikkei 225 eased 0.22%. But the Shanghai Composite rose 0.38% and the S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.82%.
Odds for a near-term rate hike mounted after Fed vice chairman Stanley Fischer said on Sunday that the U.S. economy was close to hitting the central bank's targets for full employment and 2% inflation in comments that come ahead of a FRiday speech this week by Fed Chair Janet Yellen at the annual meeting of top central bankers and economists in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
Fischer's speech was just the latest piece of hawkish rhetoric from top Fed officials. Last week, San Francisco Fed President John Williams, New York Fed Chief William Dudley and Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart all said a September rate hike may be on the table.
According to Investing.com's Fed Rate Monitor Tool, investors are pricing in a 18% chance of a rate hike by September, up from just 6% at the start of last week. December odds were at around 52%, compared to 46% on Friday.
Overnight, U.S. stocks were mixed after the close on Monday, as gains in the Healthcare, Utilities and Financials sectors led shares higher while losses in the Oil & Gas, Technology and Consumer Goods sectors led shares lower.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.12%, while the S&P 500 index declined 0.06%, and the NASDAQ Composite index climbed 0.12%.