APAC shares traded mixed on Tuesday, following a positive session in US stocks, which gained momentum from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's comments.
Powell indicated that the "baseline" scenario for the central bank involves cutting rates by 0.25 percentage points at each of its next two meetings.
By 10:50 am AEST (12:50 am GMT) the ASX 200 eased 0.5% and the Nikkei 225 added 1.7%, while the KOSPI 200 remained closed for a public holiday.
In the US markets, the DJIA remained flat at 42,330.2, while the S&P 500 rose by 0.4% to 5,762.5, and the Nasdaq also added 0.4%, reaching 18,189.2.
Among S&P 500 companies, the top three gainers were Solventum Corp, which surged 3.2%, followed by Generac Holdings Inc, up 2.6%, and Intuitive Surgical Inc, which rose by 2.6%. Conversely, the biggest decliners included Dollar Tree Inc, down 3.8%, Ulta Beauty Inc, which fell 3.7%, and General Motors Co, losing 3.5%.
In the commodity markets, Brent crude oil increased by 0.2% to US$71.77 per barrel, while gold prices remained stable at US$2,633.6.
Chinese shares closed higher, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rising 8.1% to 3,336.5 and the Shenzhen Composite Index surging 10.9% to 1,927.5.
Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng Index gained 2.4%, finishing at 21,133.7.
In Japan, the Nikkei Stock Average fell 4.8% to 37,919.6.
Indian shares also declined, with the BSE SENSEX dropping 1.5% to 84,299.8.
In the U.K., the FTSE 100 Index slipped 1.0% to 8,237.
European stocks closed mixed, with Germany's DAX falling 0.8% to 19,324.93, while France's CAC 40 remained flat at 7,635.8.
