Asian markets ended mostly lower on Tuesday as investors were cautiously awaiting key US inflation data and the outcome of the US Federal Reserve's policy meeting, and US central bank is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged. Market sentiments fell further by fresh political uncertainty after gains by the far right in voting for the European Parliament on Sunday prompted a bruised French President Emmanuel Macron to call a snap national election. Moreover, Chinese shares declined as trading resumed after a long holiday weekend. However, Japanese shares gained by tracking overnight gains on Wall Street, while a weaker yen also continued to support Japanese equities. At the upcoming meeting, the Bank of Japan is widely expected to keep its short-term interest rate unchanged at 0.0% - 0.1%.
| Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
| Shanghai Composite | 3,028.05 | -23.23 | -0.77 |
| Hang Seng | 18,176.34 | -190.61 | -1.05 |
| Jakarta Composite | 6,855.69 | -65.86 | -0.96 |
| KLSE Composite | 1,611.49 | -2.88 | -0.18 |
| Nikkei 225 | 39,134.79 | 96.63 | 0.25 |
| Straits Times | 3,309.21 | -12.87 | -0.39 |
| KOSPI Composite | 2,705.32 | 4.15 | 0.15 |
| Taiwan Weighted | 21,792.12 | -66.26 | -0.30 |
