Most of the Asian equity benchmarks have turned lower in the early deals on Tuesday, as investors stayed on the sidelines ahead of a Reserve Bank of Australia policy decision that might result in an interest rate cut. The RBA last cut its cash rate by 25 points to 2.25 percent in February, and the market had been expecting cuts in March and April that never came. Among the other markets in the Asian region, Shanghai, Singapore, Indonesia, Hong Kong and Taiwan are in negative territory.While, Malaysia is up with modest gains. The markets in South Korea and Japan are closed for Children's Day.
Jakarta Composite slipped 2.02 points or 0.04 % to 5,139.12, Taiwan Weighted crumbled 45.69 points or 0.46 % to 9,799.35, Straits Times declined by 12.41points or 0.36% to 3,470.29, Shanghai Composite tumbled 82.30 points or 1.84% to 4,398.16 and Hang Seng was down by 282.53 points or 1.00% to 27,841.29.
On the flip side, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI was up by 4.41 points or 0.24% to 1,822.68.