Asian markets advanced after a tentative start Tuesday, recouping some of the sharp losses from the previous session, with exporters such as Canon Inc. and Hitachi leading a strong recovery in Tokyo afternoon trading. Australian shares holding to gains after the central bank slashed a key interest rate by one percentage point to 3.25%, as expected. Japan's Nikkei 225 Average climbed 2.5% to 8,068.48, South Korea's Kospi gained 1.7% to 1,166.66 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 1.3% to 13,027.59, with each of them erasing early declines. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.5% to 3,550.20 and China's Shanghai Composite added 1.4% to 2,039.32.
