Japanese stocks had their biggest gain in two weeks on Tuesday as investors waited to see if Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will call a snap election and consider fresh steps to support the economy after it slipped into recession in the third quarter. The Nikkei benchmark closed 2.2 percent higher at 17,344.06, the biggest daily percentage gain since November 4.
Sony Corp stole the spotlight, soaring 6.4 percent after it said it is aiming to garner up to $11 billion in revenue from its movie business in three years' time, a 36 percent increase over levels forecast for the current financial year. The broader Topix rose 2.1 percent to 1,394.88, and the new JPX-Nikkei Index 400 gained 2.1 percent to 12,727.58.