China, Hong Kong buck broader Asia markets fall; Australia central bank leaves rates unchanged

China and Hong Kong stocks jumped Tuesday as authorities in the world’s second-largest economy took measures to arrest a recent selloff in its equities, while most Asia-Pacific markets declined.

The CSI 300 index and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 2% each. Mainland China’s CSI 300 had hit five-year lows last week.

According to a statement from the China’s securities and regulatory commission, it would “guide institutional investors… to enter the market with greater efforts.” This comes at a time where a clear lack of targeted stimulus from Beijing weighed on market sentiment.

The Reserve Bank of Australia left its official cash rate unchanged at 4.35%, as expected. The S&P/ASX 200 extended losses from Monday, falling 0.7%, while the Aussie dollar strengthened strengthened 0.5% against the U.S. dollar.

In Japan, household spending dipped more than expected in December, falling 2.5% year on year compared with the 2.1% expected by economists polled by Reuters.

The average monthly income per household for December stood at 1,099,805 yen, falling 4.4% in nominal terms and down 7.2% in real terms from the previous year.

The Bank of Japan has said sustainable wage increases are one of the prerequisites for unwinding its ultra-loose monetary policy.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.7%, while the Topix saw a larger loss of 0.8%.

South Korea’s Kospi reversed earlier gains and was down 0.5%, while the small-cap Kosdaq lost 0.7%.

Overnight in the U.S., all three major indexes lost ground as Treasury yields spiked higher on concerns the Federal Reserve might not cut rates as much as expected. Lackluster results from McDonald’s also dampened investor sentiment.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.71%, while the S&P 500 retreated from its all-time high, slipping 0.32%. The Nasdaq Composite edged down 0.2%

— CNBC’s Samantha Subin and Jesse Pound contributed to this report