Asia markets mixed, Europe stocks gain

Stocks in Asia were mixed on Tuesday, as minutes from a recent meeting by the Reserve Bank of Australia showed the central bank's willingness to move on monetary policy if necessary, reports CNBC.
In China, the Shanghai composite slipped 0.16 per cent to close at 2,937.62, while the Shenzhen component shed 0.28 per cent to finish its trading day at 9,283.41. The Shenzhen composite closed just below the flatline at 1,571.81.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index advanced about 0.1 per cent, as of its final hour of trading.
Shares of Chinese tech heavyweight Xiaomi slipped 0.32 per cent . The firm took a 6.0 per cent take in chip designer VeriSilicon Holdings, with the move coming amid Beijing's push for China to become more reliant in sectors such as chips. Xiaomi is set to announce quarterly earnings results in the second half of August.
The Nikkei 225 in Japan, which returned to trade after a holiday on Monday, slipped 0.69 per cent to end its trading day at 21,535.25. The Topix index also shed 0.48 per cent to close at 1,568.74,
South Korea's Kospi ended its trading day 0.45 per cent higher at 2,091.87. The Korea Exchange said Tuesday it would impose a 175 million Korean won (approx. $0.149 million) fine on Bank of America Merrill Lynch's South Korean branch for irregular trading activities, Reuters reported.
Over in Australia, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.18 per cent to close at 6,641.00. Shares of miner Rio Tinto slipped 0.64 per cent after the company announced a cost blowout and delay at its underground copper mine in Mongolia, along with a 3.5 per cent drop in second-quarter iron ore shipments due to disruptions caused by a tropical cyclone earlier in the year.
Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index added 0.2 per cent.
Meanwhile, European stocks began to gain momentum on Tuesday afternoon as traders monitor a slew of earnings reports.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 rose by 0.3 per cent in afternoon trade, with construction and material stocks gaining 0.9 per cent while oil and gas shares slipped 0.5 per cent .
Market players are largely focused on upcoming results from major companies Tuesday. In Europe, Burberry shares soared 12 per cent to the top the Stoxx 600 after the British luxury brand reported a pick-up in first-quarter sales driven by new designs from creative chief Riccardo Tisci.
Shares of Swedish power tools giant Husqvarna dropped 6.1 per cent to the bottom of the European blue chip index after its CEO said its full-year 2019 operating margin would be at the lower end of the previous guidance range due to weak sales early in the second quarter.
Fiat Chrysler stock was down 3.7 per cent during afternoon trade after it was initiated at a "sell" rating by Goldman Sachs.