Asian shares were mixed in muted trading Tuesday as investors awaited the US Federal Reserve meeting later in the week.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 lost 0.3 per cent to 21,528.23 in early trading. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 edged down 0.1 per cent to 6,182.10.
South Korea's Kospi inched down less than 0.1 per cent to 2,178.91. Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose nearly 0.1 per cent to 29,429.99, while the Shanghai Composite gained 0.3 per cent to 3,104.89.
US stock indexes finished modestly higher Monday, extending the market's solid gains from a rally last week, reports AP.
The S&P 500 gained 10.46 points, or 0.4 per cent, to 2,832.94. The benchmark index is now up 13 per cent for 2019 so far, which is a bigger gain than it's had in four of the last five full years.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 65.23 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 25,914.10. The Nasdaq composite added 25.95 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 7,714.48.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks picked up 10.39 points, or 0.7 per cent, to 1,563.93.
Benchmark US crude oil slipped 3 cents to $59.06 a barrel. It rose 1.0 per cent to $59.09 a barrel Tuesday. Brent crude gained 1 cent to $67.55 a barrel.
The dollar fell to 111.21 yen from 111.56 yen Monday. The euro strengthened to $1.1341 from $1.1335.
