Asian shares were mixed on Tuesday as caution set in ahead of interest rate decisions by the US Federal Reserve and other central banks.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 eased 0.7 per cent to 20,972.71 while South Korea's Kospi rose 0.4 per cent to 2,098.71. Hong Kong's Hang Seng picked up 0.9 per cent to 27,481.62.
The Shanghai Composite index was 0.1 per cent lower at 2,884.46. Australia's S&P ASX 200 added 0.6 per cent to 6,570.00. Shares rose in Taiwan and in most of Southeast Asia, reports AP.
Central banks in Britain and Japan will also announce their latest monetary policy decisions this week.
The S&P 500 index edged 0.1 per cent higher to 2,889.67 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average also rose 0.1 per cent to 26,112.53. The Nasdaq composite climbed 0.6 per cent to 7,845.02.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller company stocks added 0.7 per cent to 1,532.75.
Benchmark US crude dropped 17 cents to $51.76 a barrel. The contract gave up 58 cents to $51.93 a barrel on Monday. Brent crude, the international standard, shed 20 cents to $60.74 a barrel.
The dollar slipped to 108.27 Japanese yen from 108.53 yen. The euro strengthened to $1.1234 from $1.1220.
