Japan's Nikkei average rose 0.5 percent as Canon Inc and other exporters powered higher, bolstered by optimism about the US economy after strong retail sales data. Though the benchmark Nikkei climbed as much as 1.7 percent at one point, it ultimately pared gains, which some in the market attributed to nerves over Japan's incoming government and worries that financial market reforms may take a back seat.
The benchmark Nikkei rose 53.15 points to 10,270.77. The broader Topix lost 0.1 percent to 931.43. Selling picked up late in the afternoon session, with banks in particular losing ground - a situation that some said was due to Shizuka Kamei being picked as financial services minister.
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Japan's biggest lender, lost 1.7 percent to 526 yen, while No 3 bank Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group fell 1.9 percent to 3,560 yen. Mizuho Financial Group lost 1.5 percent to 195 yen. Exporters climbed on short-covering on the apparent halt in the yen's rise against the dollar during trading hours.
Canon jumped 4.2 percent to 3,700 yen after Nomura Securities raised its rating on the company to "buy" from "neutral" and hiked its target price to 4,218 yen from 3,462 yen. Nomura cited Canon's Monday announcement that it will start providing its latest multi-functional printers to Hewlett-Packard later this year.
Tokyo Electron Ltd gained 3.4 percent to 5,470 yen and industrial robot maker Fanuc Ltd added 1.3 percent to 7,690 yen. Olympus Corp advanced 2.9 percent to 2,490 yen after Credit Suisse reinstated coverage of the camera and medical equipment firm with an "outperform" rating and a target price of 3,100 yen.
Nippon Steel and JFE Holdings climbed after J.P. Morgan started coverage of both firms at "overweight", noting that the steel market has bottomed and is now rebounding, while Kobe Steel rose after coverage was initiated at "neutral". Nippon Steel rose 1.2 percent to 339 yen, JFE Holdings gained 0.9 percent to 3,230 yen and Kobe Steel added 0.6 percent to 162 yen. Trade was moderate on the Tokyo exchange's first section, with 2 billion shares changing hands, in line with last week's daily average. Declining stocks outnumbered advancing ones by 2 to 1.