SYDNEY, NSW, Australia - Stocks in Japan reversed course Tuesday after making solid gains on Easter Monday.

The Nikkei 225 in Japan tumbled despite an easing of U.S. bond yields.

"Investors who bought stocks when the Nikkei hit the 30,000 mark earlier this year were disappointed when the index fell well below that level. Those who do not want to repeat that risk were selling the shares today," Takatoshi Itoshima, strategist at Pictet Asset Management told Reuters Thomson Tuesday.

"The market fundamental is strong. But ultimately the stimulus packages in the U.S. and the direction of the long term interest rates could determine the move of the Japanese market."

In Tokyo the Nikkei 225 shed 392.62 points or 1.30 percent to 29,696.63.

In Australia, the All Ordinaries finished with a major gain. The key index rose 80.80 points or 1.14 percent to 7,145.00.

China's Shanghai Composite closed basically flat, down 1.43 points or 0.04 percent at 3,482.97.

The Hang Seng in Hong Kong was closed for an extended break.

The U.S. dollar traded in a tight range on Tuesday in Asia, after breaking slightly higher in New York overnight. The euro remained well bid at 1.1807. The British pound held at 1.3900. The Japanese yen drifted slightly lower to 110.27. The Swiss franc drifted to 0.9377.

The Canadian dollar inched down to 1.2534. The Australian and New Zealand dollars were little changed at 0.7645 and 0.7054 respectively. On Tuesday the Trans-Tasman countries announced their skies to each other would open up on 19 April. Two-way quarantine-free travel will resume between major Australian and New Zealand cities.

Overnight on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 373.98 points, or 1.13% higher at 33,527.19.

The Standard and Poor's 500 advanced 58.04 points, or 1.44%, to 4,077.91.

The Nasdaq Composite did best of all in percentage terms, climbing 225.49 points, or 1.67%, to 13,705.59.