Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.24% Tuesday after hitting a 29-year high the day before but Chinese blue chips dropped as recent bond defaults hit sentiment.
The Nikkei rose 521.06 points, or 2.05%, Monday to hit 25,906.93, its highest finish since June 3, 1991, as a result of positive market news.
Its current winning streak has now reached seven days. In the process, the Nikkei has added more than 8%, or over 1,900 points, so far this month.
Analysts said the Nikkei had advanced more than 10% over the past two weeks on a combination of brisk earnings, progress in the development of a COVID-19 vaccine and brighter prospects for another multitrillion economic stimulus in the United States under president-elect Joe Biden.
On an annualized basis, Japan's gross domestic product grew 21.4% during the third quarter. Actual third quarter gross domestic product beat the average forecast of 18% by private-sector analysts.
"Better-than-expected gross domestic product growth helped turn investors more aggressive," said Kenji Abe, chief strategist at Daiwa Securities Group Inc.
Elsewhere, Asia stocks held gains and moved tentatively further into record territory Tuesday, after U.S. benchmarks were pepped up by news of another promising coronavirus vaccine, though futures indicated the rally could stall in European hours.
Investor sentiment was given a boost when Moderna Inc. said its experimental COVID-19 vaccine was 94.5% effective in preventing infection based on interim late-stage data.
The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based firm became the second drugmaker, after Pfizer Inc., to announce promising trial data in the development of a vaccine. Its shares gained 9.6% on the day.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gained 0.17% Tuesday, a day after hitting its highest level since launching in 1987.
The MSCI World Index of global shares which also hit a record high Monday, ticked higher still in the Asian session.
Asia gains Tuesday were led by benchmarks in Singapore and Indonesia which both rose around 1%, while Hong Kong rose 0.1% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.23%.
S&P 500 futures dropped 0.44%, European Eurostoxx 50 futures fell 0.55% and FTSE futures fell 0.4% late in the Asia session.
U.S. crude Tuesday firmed 0.56% to $41.57 per barrel after rising 3.02% Monday, and Brent gained 0.7% after a 2.43% jump the day before.
In currency markets, China's central bank Tuesday lifted its official yuan midpoint to the highest in nearly 29 months, underpinned by solid gains in spot prices a day earlier on the back of strong economic data.
