Shares in Asia traded in a tight range amid relatively thin holiday trading after a rally in some of the world's biggest technology companies boosted U.S. benchmarks.

Stocks swung between gains and losses in Japan and were slightly lower in Australia, with sessions shortened in Hong Kong and Sydney for Christmas Eve. U.S. stock futures were little changed after Tesla Inc. and Nvidia Corp. pushed the "Magnificent Seven" megacap benchmark up 1.4% on Monday, helping the S&P 500 erase an earlier decline triggered by weaker-than-expected U.S. consumer confidence data.

The 10-year Treasury yield opened little changed on Tuesday at 4.58%, while the Bloomberg benchmark for the dollar rose 0.1%.

Nissan Motor Co. shares fell as much as 7.3% in Tokyo after the company confirmed it was in talks with Honda Motor Co. on a possible business integration. Honda shares rose as much as 14%. South Korean data on Tuesday showed consumer confidence fell this month by the most since the outbreak of Covid-19, fueled by political turmoil sparked by President Yoon Suk Yeol's declaration of martial law and his impeachment. That will raise concerns about a further slowdown in private spending and raise speculation the Bank of Korea may consider cutting interest rates in January. (azf)

Source: Bloomberg