Asian stock markets mostly higher

Asia-Pacific stocks were mostly higher on Tuesday as investors weighed key economic data in the region. The Hang Seng index rose 0.45% after Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee announced he would lift a mask mandate from March 1. Meanwhile, the Hang Seng Tech index fell 0.5%. In mainland China, the Shenzhen Component rose 0.2% and the Shanghai Composite rose fractionally. South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.94%, the region’s biggest gainer, while the Kosdaq rose 1.26% as shares of battery material maker L&F rose after its deal with Tesla. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.47% after January retail sales rose 1.9% from December, beating expectations of a 1.5% increase. India is due to report its fourth-quarter 2022 gross domestic product today, which is expected to rise 4.6%. U.S. stock markets rose on Monday night as investors tried to recover somewhat from the worst week of the year on Wall Street. All three major U.S. indexes closed higher, led by the Nasdaq Composite Index.