Stocks made muted gains and traders were wary on Tuesday, following a slide in cryptocurrencies and a global bond selloff triggered by a looming interest rate hike in Japan.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index opened up 155 points, or 0.6 percent, at 26,188, while the China Enterprises Index rose 51 points, or 0.6 percent, to 9,224 and the Tech Index climbed 42 points, or 0.8 percent, to 5,687.

On the mainland, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index was down 0.14 percent at 3,908 while the Shenzhen Component Index was 0.13 percent lower at 13,130 and the ChiNext Index, the Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, was down 0.04 percent at 3,091.

In Japan, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average opened 191 points, or 0.39 percent, at 49,494 while the Korea Composite Stock Price Index opened up 18 points, or 0.48 percent, at 3,939 in Seoul.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.6 percent.

S&P 500 futures were steady in early trade after falls on Wall Street overnight, while Japanese government bonds remained under pressure ahead of a 10-year auction after a weeks-long tumble on concern about the nation's fiscal outlook.

"The mood [in cryptocurrencies] is ranging between fearful and resigned," said Jehan Chu, founder at Kenetic Capital, a blockchain venture capital firm, with the latest drop catching investors by surprise.

"The next couple months are crucial but even the most bullish may be settling in to hibernate for the winter."

Expectations that Japan will hike interest rates later this month had surged on Monday when Bank of Japan governor Kazuo Ueda laid the groundwork for tightening policy.

The yen caught a boost and has stood firmest in foreign exchange markets over the past 24 hours, holding at 155 per US dollar on Tuesday.

Some investors, however, are starting to expect a more durable turn lower for the greenback as the United States shapes to cut interest rates further and faster than many peers.

Data on Monday supported expectations for a December rate cut by the US Federal Reserve, with manufacturing contracting for a ninth straight month in November – though consumers did beat analyst expectations with a US$23.6 billion online shopping spree.

"The US data remains decent enough – but the rest of world is on a firmer footing," said Deutsche Bank strategist Tim Baker, who sees scope for the dollar to fall towards the end of the year. (Reuters/Xinhua)