Asian equity benchmarks are trading lower in the early deals on Tuesday, as investors braced for policy decisions from major central banks this week, with all eyes on the Bank of Japan's decision later in the day after it stunned markets in January by adopting negative interest rates. Chinese stocks fell, led by commodity producers, after energy prices declined and policy makers were seen planning a tax on foreign-exchange transactions. The yuan depreciated as china’s central bank cut its daily fixing by the most in two months. Meanwhile, Japan's Nikkei share average eased in choppy trade but most investors stayed on the sidelines awaiting the outcome of the Bank of Japan's two-day policy meeting. Investors were also awaiting the outcome of the US Federal Reserve's policy meeting on Wednesday. The Fed is not expected to raise interest rates, but investors will be on the lookout for clues about future hikes.
Nikkei 225 dropped 161.43 points or 0.94% to 17,072.32, Hang Seng declined 170.88 points or 0.84% to 20,264.46, Jakarta Composite slipped 26.69 points or 0.55% to 4,850.84, KOSPI Index contracted 3.82 points or 0.19% to 1,968.45, Taiwan Weighted dipped 139.31 points or 1.59% to 8,608.59, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI decreased 6.15 points or 0.36% to 1,694.16, Straits Times crumbled 5.42 points or 0.19% to 2,841.64, and Shanghai Composite was down by 32.21 points or 1.13 % to 2,827.29.