Asian Stocks Rise On Hopes Of US Fiscal Deal

Asian shares rose Tuesday on hopes of a U.S. fiscal deal, while the euro fell after Moody's Investors Service scrapped France's top-notch credit rating, reminding investors of the protracted euro mess.

Global stocks and commodities surged Monday to recover some of last week's sharp losses on hopes U.S. lawmakers will reach a deal to avert the "fiscal cliff."

Moody's downgraded France's government bond rating to Aa1 and kept its negative outlook, citing the country's uncertain fiscal outlook and deteriorating economic prospects, Reuters reported. That sent the euro down 0.3 percent to $1.2777 in early Asian trading from $1.2810, a two-week high reached on Monday, and also pushed crosses lower such as the euro against the yen down 0.4 percent and the Australian dollar against the yen down 0.1 percent.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan inched up 0.3 percent. Australian shares were up 0.2 percent and South Korean shares opened 1 percent higher. Japan’s Nikkei opened up 0.5 percent at a two-month high.

Wall Street stocks climbed almost 2 percent Monday, extending a rally that began Friday, with the Standard & Poor's 500 Index closing above its 200-day moving average for the first time in eight sessions. Crude oil jumped almost 3 percent.

"Moody's news is certainly not positive but market reaction seems contained," Hiroshi Maeba, head of FX trading Japan for UBS in Tokyo told Reuters. "Given the recent market rally, the rest of the week is likely to be spent on adjusting positions before the long weekend, with any uptick giving way to profit taking."

The CBOE Volatility index hit a one-month low on Monday, reflecting receding risk aversion.

The dollar retreated from the two-month high of 81.455 hit on Friday against a basket of key currencies .DXY, and helped buoy dollar-denominated commodities.

U.S. crude futures eased 0.4 percent to $88.94 a barrel after rising over $2 the previous day on supply concerns.