HONG KONG (AP) ? Most Asian stock markets bounced back Tuesday as fears receded of political turmoil in the region following news of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il's death the day before.
Investors appeared relieved that Kim's death from a heart attack had not triggered an immediate crisis over a leadership succession in the isolated nation known to be pursuing nuclear weapons.
North Korea's neighbors worry that internal political maneuvering could spill over into missile launches or other aggression, though analysts give such acts a low probability.
But gains were kept in check after Australia's central bank expressed fears of a weakening global economy.
South Korea's Kospi led regional gains, up 0.8 percent to 1,790.88 a day after tumbling 3.4 percent on news of Kim's death.
Japan's Nikkei 225 index rose 0.5 percent to 8,342.17, Hong Kong's Hang Seng climbed 0.5 percent to 18,168.61 and the Shanghai Composite Index advanced 0.2 percent to 2,221.68.
"Yesterday we had a little bit of a scare with the North Korea situation," said Jackson Wong, a vice president at Tanrich Securities. But today, "the market actually bounced back nicely."
Wong said investors in Hong Kong and mainland China were also hopeful that policymakers in Beijing may announce measures as soon as this weekend to help bolster economic growth following recent signs of weakness.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell less than 0.1 percent to 4,058.50 after the Reserve Bank of Australia warned that Europe's sovereign debt and banking problems "would weigh heavily on economic activity" and "there was a non-trivial possibility of a sharp contraction."
Central bank "members concluded that growth in the world economy was likely to weaken over the coming year," according to minutes of a policy meeting held Dec. 6 that were released Tuesday.
Benchmarks in New Zealand and India also fell.
Trading was light in many markets ahead of the Christmas holidays.
Hang Ten Group Holdings Ltd. surged 56 percent in Hong Kong after the casual clothing retailer said it received a buyout offer worth 2.65 billion Hong Kong dollars ($340 million) from Li & Fung Retailing Ltd.
In New York on Monday, the Dow Jones industrial average lost 0.8 percent to close at 11,766.26. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 1.2 percent to 1,205.35. The Nasdaq composite index fell 1.3 percent to 2,523.14.
In currencies, the euro fell to $1.3004 from $1.3017 late Monday in New York. The dollar strengthened to 77.98 Japanese yen from 77.95 yen.
Benchmark oil for January delivery was up 42 cents at $94.30 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 35 cents to settle at $93.88 per barrel on Monday.
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