Asia markets fell in early trade on Tuesday, tracking slight declines in the U.S. overnight, as traders await a monetary policy decision from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA).
In Australia, the ASX 200 fell 0.24 percent, with most sectors trading lower. The heavily-weighted financial subindex was down 0.6 percent as shares of major Australian banks slipped — ANZ eased 0.5 percent, while the Commonwealth Bank declined 0.57 percent and Westpac fell 0.71 percent and the National Australia Bank dipped 0.49 percent.
The Australian dollar traded at $0.7604 at 8:06 a.m. HK/SIN, dropping from levels above $0.7650 reached in the previous week.
The RBA is set to announce its monetary policy decision at 2:30 p.m. local time, where economists mostly expect the central bank to keep the cash rate at a record low of 1.50 percent.
“The RBA Board Meeting is unanimously expected to be on hold, though markets will be paying close attention to the post meeting statement,” said Tapas Strickland, an economist at the National Australia Bank.
He added the central bank has little appetite to ease policy further given concerns over “creating fragilities in household balance sheets” and also it was more optimistic on the global economy.
Strickland said the April statement could, however, have a slight dovish tone, given the ongoing softness in the labor market and Monday’s soft retail numbers.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 fell 0.7 percent, while across the Korean Strait, the Kospi was down 0.24 percent.
“We head into Tuesday trade with a distinct risk-off vibe, although the moves in equities are probably best described as a ‘drift’, rather than a ‘spike’ lower,” said Chris Weston, chief market strategist at spreadbettor IG.
In the currency market, the dollar last traded at 100.47 against a basket of currencies at 8:11 a.m. HK/SIN, climbing from levels below 99.60 reached in the previous week.
Among major currency pairs, the yen traded at 110.63 to the dollar, strengthening from levels above 111.0 and likely will put pressure on Japanese export stocks.
Japanese export stocks, particularly automakers, were under pressure in early trade. Shares of Toyota declined 1.03 percent, Nissan was down 2.75 percent and Honda fell 2.42 percent.
Meanwhile, Toshiba shares dropped 5.03 percent in Tokyo on Tuesday. On Monday, Reuters citing sources said the troubled Japanese conglomerate would likely miss a third deadline to report its quarterly business results.
Oil prices declined in the Monday session, with global benchmark Brent dropping 0.8 percent to $53.12 a barrel, while U.S. crude fell 0.7 percent to $50.24 a barrel. On Tuesday in early Asia, U.S. crude rebounded 0.08 percent to $50.28 a barrel, while Brent gained 0.04 percent to $53.14 a barrel.
Reuters reported that Libya’s Sharara oil field, the country’s largest, resumed production on Sunday following a one-week disruption. The field was producing around 120,000 barrels per day on Monday and about 220,000 bpd prior to the Mar. 27 shutdown.
Markets in China and Taiwan remained shut on Tuesday for a public holiday.