Shares of Hitachi Ltd. rose in early Tuesday trading, a day after the Japanese tech and industrial conglomerate posted a more than doubling of its group net profit for the April-June quarter.

The U.S. will this week host a meeting of about 16 nations opposed to a controversial European Union carbon tax on airlines, aiming to draw up an alternative plan, a U.S. official said Monday.

Japanese stocks dropped in early Tuesday trade, as banks traded lower after Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. posted a 43% drop in profit, and some tech exporters suffered from a stronger yen.

Australian shares gained early Tuesday, shrugging off mild losses on Wall Street overnight.

Panasonic Corp. will likely post a swing back to profit in the April-June quarter, with group net income of 10 billion yen ($128 million), compared to a �30.3 billion loss in the year-earlier period, according to a Nikkei news report Tuesday.

Brazilian steelmaker Usinas Siderurgicas de Minas Gerais SA (USIM3.BR, USIM5.BR, USNZY), or Usiminas, reported a second-quarter net loss of 87 million Brazilian reais ($42.87 million), reversing its year-earlier gain of BRL157 million, largely due to currency factors.

DUET Group (DUE.AU) said Tuesday that it will pay A$93 million to AMP Ltd. (AMP.AU) and Macquarie Group Ltd. (MQG.AU) to internalize the management of the electricity and gas distribution company.

The Government of Singapore Investment Corp. has reduced its exposure in developed markets and cut its holdings in equities and bonds, as global uncertainties continue to weigh on the sovereign-wealth fund's investment strategy.

The Spanish region of Andalusia isn't planning to request state aid from the central government as it expects to meet its 2012 deficit target of 1.5% of its gross domestic product, Cinco Dias reported in its Tuesday Internet edition.

Japan's unemployment rate eased in June, beating expectations, although the gain in household spending missed forecasts.