Investing.com - Asian shares held weaker on Tuesday as markets turned cautious on Japan and its efforts on monetary and fiscal policies and noted weak Australia data.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 fell 0.68% after Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso said exchange rates were showing "extremely nervous moves" and that he was closely watching currency movements. In addition,Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government was slated to approve ¥13.5 trillion ($132 billion) in fiscal stimulus to boost the economy and prices.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX eased 0.19% as building approvals for June fell 2.9%, compared with a 0.5% gain seen month-on-month and the trade balance widened to a deficit of A$3.195 billion from an expected deficit of A$2 billion and a previous month figure of A$2.418 billion.
The Shanghai Composite was down 0.16%.
Overnight, U.S. stocks were mixed after the close on Monday, as gains in the Healthcare, Technology and Consumer Services sectors led shares higher while losses in the Oil & Gas, Telecoms and Basic Materials sectors led shares lower.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.15%, while the S&P 500 index lost 0.13%, and the NASDAQ Composite index added 0.43%.