SK Hynix (SKHY.O) plans to buy back and cancel more than 60 trillion won of its own shares.

U.S. consumer confidence unexpectedly improved in October, rising for the first time in four months, the Conference Board said on Tuesday. The consumer confidence index jumped 7.5 points to 91.7, its highest since June and well above the economists' median forecast of 81.0. The six-month expectations index climbed about 7 points to 72.6, while the present-situation index reached a six-month high. The Conference Board said the confidence uptick is consistent with a retreat in retail gasoline prices from September to October, but added that confidence remains on a longer-term downward trend despite the October improvement.

A-shares opened higher then slipped; at midday the Shanghai Composite was down 0.13%, the Shenzhen Composite down 0.33% and the ChiNext Index down 0.45%. Morning turnover across Shanghai and Shenzhen was 870 bln yuan, down 136.1 bln yuan from the prior session. More than 3,700 stocks declined. Motor/electric machinery names outperformed with several hitting daily limits; retail activity was strong, including a stock recording a fifth consecutive limit-up. Banks, animal-feed and reducer/gearbox-related sectors were among the top gainers. Aerospace and defence underperformed, while biopharma, semiconductors and e-commerce sectors lagged.