Investing.com - Asian stocks advanced on Tuesday as U.S. stocks climbed to fresh all-time highs overnight after the Trump administration sealed a bilateral trade deal with Mexico.
U.S. President Donald Trump unveiled details of the agreement that he says will replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
The new deal is expected to last 16 years and will be reviewed every six years pending its approval by Congress, according to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.
In Asia, China’s Shanghai Composite and the Shenzhen Component both rose 0.1%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index also gained 0.3% as investors await China’s official factory PMI due Friday.
South Korea’s KOSPI added 0.4% after its government proposed the largest expansion in fiscal spending in a decade for the year 2019.
The Ministry of Economy and Finance revealed on Tuesday in its budget proposal for 2019 that total spending will increase 9.7% to 470.5 trillion won ($420.27 billion), the biggest jump since a 10.6% increase in 2009.
Spending on welfare, health and jobs will account for 162.2 trillion won, up 12.1% from this year, according to the proposal.
"Thanks to higher revenue from robust tax collection, we're expanding the size of fiscal expenditure to add jobs, and to boost the dynamism of the economy," finance minister Kim Dong-yeon said at an embargoed news briefing.
Elsewhere, Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.5%. Toyota Motor Corp (T:7203) was in focus after the automaker said it will invest $500 million in Uber to jointly work on developing self-driving cars. As part of the pact, Toyota will manufacture Sienna minivans equipped with Uber’s self-driving technology, and another company will operate the fleet, according to reports citing people familiar with the matter.
Down under, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 traded up by 0.7% as it continued its recovery from last week's political turmoil.