Japan's service sector activity expanded in February, extending gains for one-and-a half years, a business survey showed on Tuesday, helped by solid demand in tourism and new product launches.

Consumer price index inflation in Japan’s capital rebounded from 22-month lows in February, increasing the prospect of sticky inflation in the country and putting any potential rate hikes from the Bank of Japan squarely in focus. 

China has set an economic growth target for 2024 of around 5%, similar to last year's goal and in line with analysts' expectations, according to an official work report released on Tuesday.

The dollar held steady on the yuan on Tuesday as markets digested a welter of policy statements out of China, while a rebound in Tokyo inflation seemed to take Japan a step closer to the end of negative interest rates.

Thailand's employment rose 1.7% in the final quarter of 2023 from a year earlier, helped by the tourism sector, after a 1.3% year-on-year increase in the previous quarter, the state planning agency said.

New automobile sales in Japan shrank 19.2% from a year before to 344,816 units in February, down for the second consecutive month, industry data showed.