Asia stocks finished mixed on Tuesday as investors took to the sidelines ahead of major central bank monetary policy decisions due later in the week.
The Nikkei 225 dropped 86.02 points, or 0.5%, to 17,353.28.
The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong regained 102.83 points, or 0.5%, to 21,407.27
The Japanese yen broke the 111 handle against the U.S. dollar in late afternoon local time after market close, with the dollar/yen pair trading down 0.4%. On Monday, the pair traded near the 111.86 level.
Major Japanese exporters closed mostly lower, with shares of Toyota down 0.7%, Nissan down 1% and Honda off 0.7%. Shares of Sony closed up 0.5% while troubled Japanese car maker Mitsubishi Motors saw an over 4% gain evaporate to finish down 9.6%
In Japan, shares of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries slid 3.6%, and Kawasaki Heavy Industries closed down 2.1% respectively, after reports said the companies did not win the bid to build Australia's new fleet of submarines. Reuters reported Australia awarded the A$50 billion ($40 billion U.S.) contract to French naval contractor DCNS.
In company news, South Korean memory chip maker SK Hynix reported a 65% on-year drop in the company's operating profit for the first quarter on the back of sluggish demand for electronic devices. Its net income for the quarter was also down 65% on-year, while revenue fell 24% on-year.
Energy plays in the region were mixed, with Santos closing down 3.7%, Inpex dropping 1.5%and Japan Petroleum down 1.1%. Woodside Petroleum added 1.4%.
Australian resources stocks were mostly lower on the back of a retreat in commodity prices. Shares of Rio Tinto closed down 3.1%. Fortescue was down 6.3% and BHP Billiton down 3%
The U.S. Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) begins its two-day policy meeting later today local time, while decisions from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand and the Bank of Japan (BOJ) are due Thursday Asia time. Most analysts expect the Fed to stand pat on rates, while half of the analysts polled by Reuters expect the BOJ to ease its monetary policy further.
CHINA
The Shanghai CSI 300 index recovered 17.13 points, or 0.5%, to 3,179.16.
Chinese metal plays ended mixed, with Baoshan Steel down 0.2%, Nanjing Steel up 0.4% and Yunnan Copper off 1%
Chinese mainland shares of Sinopec were up 1.5%
In other markets;
In Taiwan, the Taiex Index recouped 21.29 points, or 0.3%, to 8,581.57
In Korea, the Kospi index restored 5.08 points, or 0.3%, to 2,019.63
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index eased 5.62 points, or 0.2%, to 2,919.63
New Zealand’s NZX 50 returned from a long weekend by dropping 70.39 points, or 1%, to 6,795.72
The ASX 200 also came back from holiday to slid 15.72 points, or 0.3%, to 5,220.65
