Wall Street's S&P 500 index rose 0.2% on Tuesday to its second high in two days, driven by strong earnings reports by some major companies.
"A jump in Australian core inflation highlighted intensifying cost pressures in the global economy," said Anderson Alves of ActivTrades in a report. The Kospi in Seoul shed 0.9% to 3,022.84 while the S&P-ASX 200 in Sydney gained less than 0.1% to 7.445.80. UPS jumped 6.9% for the biggest gain in the S&P 500 on stronger third-quarter profits than expected due to higher shipping rates. Hasbro rose 3.2% after the maker of Transformers, My Little Pony and other toys reported solid financial results.