Japanese stocks ended higher, as investors' concerns over U.S.-China trade tensions somewhat eased. The Nikkei Stock Average closed up 0.5% at 35039.15, supported by financial and automobile stocks. Toyota Motor closed 2.

Shares of electric carmaker Tesla surged 6.5% in the first trading since CEO Elon Musk said his time devoted to the Department of Government Efficiency would "drop significantly" next month, paving the way for his return to the company.

But the White House is running into the reality that other countries, include China and the EU, are not yet willing to negotiate