Japan's benchmark stock index continued its bullish run to set an almost 34-year intraday high on Tuesday, before later giving up the gains. The early buying in Tokyo was helped by the record overnight close in New York's Dow Jones Industrial Average.

The Nikkei 225 rose more than 400 points at one stage to near the 37,000 mark, the highest since February 1990. That peak came right after the Bank of Japan on Tuesday said it was sticking with its easy monetary policy.

But the index later erased the day's gains as some investors took profits. It ended the day at 36,517, down a slight 0.1 percent from Monday.