China: Asian Shares Fall Amid Lack Of Triggers

Asian shares slid from a 10-week high on Tuesday as oil prices fell again on oversupply concerns and the Bank of Japan preferred to stand pat on rates next its amaze January decision to adopt negative interest rates.

Lackluster cues from Wall Street, a weaker yuan and profit taking next recent sharp gains as well kept investors on edge ahead of a two-day Federal Reserve monetary policy conference that gets underway tonight.

Chinese shares recouped early losses to end modestly higher next sharp gains the previous day. The benchmark Shanghai Composite closed 4.87 points or 0.17 % higher at 2,864.37 next falling around 1 % before in the session. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index dropped 146.57 points or 0.72 % to 20,288.77.

Japanese shares retreated on a firmer yen next the Bank of Japan downgraded its view on the economy and inflation expectations, citing risks from weaker increase in China and other emerging markets.

The benchmark Nikkei average closed 116.68 points or 0.68 % lower at 17,117.07, snapping a three-day winning streak. The broader Topix shed 0.57 % to close at 1,372.08.

Automakers Mazda, Nissan and Toyota Motor fell about 2 % each and oil firm Inpex Corp dropped 1.9 % while electronics makers Panasonic and Sharp Corp retreated 1-2 %. Toshiba lost 1.1 % on a Nikkei statement that it is in late-stage talks to sell its white goods business to Chinese household appliance giant Midea Group.

Australian shares ended deep in the red as the commodity rally showed signs of running out of steam. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index fell 74.10 points or 1.43 % to 5,111.40, dragged down by resource and financial stocks. The broader all Ordinaries index fell by 73.80 points or 1.41 % to 5,168.60.

The large four banks fell between 1.4 % and 1.8 %. The minutes of the RBA's March board conference showed that the central bank is concerned about world request and believes low inflation would give it scope to cut interest rates in the coming months.

Oil Search, Santos, Woodside Petroleum and Origin Energy lost 3-5 % next crude prices fell about 3 % overnight on news that Iran plans to increase output before joining talks on a production freeze. Mining giants BHP and Rio Tinto fell additional than 3 % each.

Rail and ports giant Asciano rose 1.4 % next it agreed to an A$9.1 billion ($6.8 billion) buyout by former rivals Qube Holdings and Canadian investment manager Brookfield. Tap Oil slumped 12 % next announcing a corporate restructuring.

Seoul shares gave up early gains to end lower as investors awaited the outcome of the Fed and BOE meetings this week. Ending a four-day winning streak, the benchmark Kospi slid 2.30 points or 0.12 % to close at 1,969.97.

New Zealand's NZX-50 S&P/NZX 50 rose 10.99 points or 0.17 % to finish at 6,577.82, a new record for the benchmark index, as investors chased stocks with high dividend yield in a low interest rate environment. Genesis Energy, Freightways and SkyCity Entertainment climbed 3-5 %.

Elsewhere, the benchmark indexes in India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore were down between 0.4 % and 0.9 % while the Taiwan Weighted tumbled 1.6 %.

On Wall Street, stocks ended Monday's session narrowly mixed as oil prices dipped and caution crept in ahead of the Fed's interest rate decision.