The Japanese stock exchange ended Tuesday with a small profit. A fall in the Japanese yen led to price gains among the major Japanese export companies. The financial companies were also popular thanks to an increase in the yields on the bond markets. A fall in Chinese producer prices, a measure of the profitability of Chinese companies, kept the profit limited.

The leading Nikkei in Tokyo finally closed 0.4 percent higher at 21,392.10 points. Toyota and Honda automakers benefited from the cheaper yen and rose to 2.4 percent. Nissan reported a 3.7 percent increase after news that CEO Hiroto Saikawa will resign next week due to a pay scandal. Saikawa admitted that there was a fraud in the payment of dividends on his shares in the company.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Mizuho Financial Group and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group climbed to 3.4 percent. The recovery of returns on major government bonds supports the profitability of Japanese banks. Telecom concern SoftBank won 1.8 percent. The start-up for shared workspaces WeWork is considering putting its stock market debut in the refrigerator. Rumors emerged last week that WeWork, in which SoftBank is a major investor, is worth far less than previously thought.

In Shanghai, the stock market indicator was 0.1 percent lower in the meantime and the Hang Seng index rose slightly in Hong Kong. Chinese producer prices fell by 0.8 percent on an annual basis last month. That was the largest decrease in three years. Consumer prices increased by 2.8 percent on an annual basis. The Kospi in Seoul climbed 0.7 percent and the All Ordinaries in Sydney lost 0.6 percent.