TOKYO (REUTERS)

Stocks rebounded in early trading in Asia on Tuesday as markets took heart from reports Iran is considering attending peace talks with the United States in Pakistan, with renewed bets on AI underpinning demand.

Investors were also keeping their eyes on a Senate confirmation hearing later for Kevin Warsh, US President Donald Trump's nominee to lead the Federal Reserve, which Trump has repeatedly criticised for failing to cut rates sooner and more aggressively.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.9%, as South Korea's Kospi rose 2.1% to hit a fresh record high for the first time since the Iran war began. ​S&P 500 e-mini futures were up 0.1%, while Brent crude slipped 0.4% to $95.09 a barrel.

Japan's Nikkei 225 tacked on 1.2%, while Australian shares bucked the trend, slipping 0.3%.

Overnight, the S&P 500 was down 0.2% on worries over whether the US-Iran ceasefire would hold, while the Nasdaq Composite snapped a 13-day winning streak, its longest in more than three decades.

Warsh's confirmation hearing before the Senate panel is scheduled to begin at ‌1400 GMT on Tuesday, with his independence from ​the Trump White House expected to be a key focus. Warsh will say he is "committed to ensuring that the conduct of monetary policy remains strictly independent," according to his prepared remarks, while economists say his attitudes towards the central bank's quantitative easing programme will also be critical.

The US dollar index, which measures the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, held steady at 98.08, firmly in the middle of the range it has sat in during the past week.

The euro was fetching $1.1782 and sterling traded at $1.35225, both down a touch on the day. The risk-sensitive Australian dollar also eased 0.1% to $0.7171 in early trading.

The yield on the US 10-year Treasury bond was up 0.8 basis point at 4.256%.

Bets on so-called dollar debasement languished. Gold was up 0.1% at $4,824.83 after a month of moving sideways.

Cryptocurrencies fluctuated in the trading channel they have followed in since early February, with bitcoin ​down 0.3% at $76,072.61 and ether slipping 0.8% to $2,320.92.