Investing.com - Asian markets mostly trended lower on Tuesday, as Australia was weighed by further falls in mining stocks and data from China on foreign direct investment disappointed.
The Nikkei 225 bucked the trend, up 0.6% as the market recovered from a 1.1% drop on Monday - the largest daily fall in a month.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.2%, as mining companies were hit by further falls in the price of iron ore, which fell 2% to a fresh 21-month low. Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) lost 0.9% and Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX:FMG) was 2.7% lower.
The Reserve Bank of Australia, citing a slowdown in mining, appeared to tilt toward a dovish stance in its latest minutes from the June board meeting released on Tuesday.
Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea's KOSPI rose by 0.2% and in China stocks were lower, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index down 0.4% and the Shanghai Composite down 0.5%.
In China, May actual foreign direct investment fell 6.7%, from a gain of 5.0% year-on-year in April.
Overnight, better-than-expected U.S. manufacturing gauges sent U.S. stocks rising on Monday on hopes that more bustling factory floors will boost corporate top lines, though fears chaos in Iraq may slow global growth dampened spirits on Wall Street somewhat.
The Dow 30 rose 0.03%, the S&P 500 index rose 0.08%, while the NASDAQ Composite index rose 0.24%.
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported earlier that its general business conditions index increased to 19.28 this month from 19.01 in May. Analysts had expected the index to decline to 15.0.
A separate report showed that U.S. industrial production rose by 0.6% last month, beating forecasts for a 0.5% gain, which drew applause on Wall Street, though events in Iraq capped gains.
Concerns over the ongoing Sunni insurgency in Iraq weighed on markets by stoking fears that the escalating conflict could dampen global recovery, especially if the violence disrupts Iraqi oil exports, hikes prices at U.S. gasoline pumps and waters down the economy.
Iraqi fears came at a time when U.S. growth expectations came under scrutiny.
The International Monetary Fund earlier trimmed its 2014 U.S. economic growth forecast due to a harsh winter and a “still-struggling housing market."
The IMF said it now expects the U.S. economy to expand 2% in 2014, down from its forecast of 2.8% in April.
The Federal Reserve will conclude a two-day policy meeting on Wednesday, and concerns rose the U.S. central bank may adjust its 2014 growth forecast un wake of the -1% first-quarter GDP figure.
On Tuesday, the U.S. is to produce data on housing starts, building permits and consumer prices.