Energy, materials, consumer staples and industrial stocks are among the notable losers in the Australian market.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index, which declined to 4,962.7, is currently trading at 4,971, down 13.3 points or 0.3% from its previous close. The broader All Ordinaries index is down 14.6 points or 0.3% at 4,997.
Among bank stocks, ANZ Bank and Westpack Banking Corporation are trading marginally up, while Commonwealth Bank of Australia and National Australia Bank are trading modestly lower.
Mining stocks BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Newcrest Mining are exhibiting weakness. Incitec Pivot, Lihir Gold, Bluescope Steel and Orica are also trading weak, while Fortescue Metals is in positive territory with a modest gain.
Among energy stocks, Woodside Petroleum is trading lower by 1.2%, Santos is down with a loss of about 1% and Oil Search is declining 1.3%, while Origin Energy is trading lower by 0.4% from its previous closing price.
Leighton Holdings has announced that it has been awarded contracts worth A$240 million for upgrade works on the Gateway Motorway in Brisbane. The contracts, covering works from Mt Gravatt-Capalaba Road to Miles Platting Road, are an extension to the existing Gateway Upgrade Project.
They involve widening the Gateway Motorway from four to six lanes, improving the road alignment and localised improvements to the Mt Gravatt-Capalaba Road interchange. Leighton will carry out the work through its joint venture with fellow constructor, Abigroup. The Leighton Holdings stock is currently trading 0.4% up.
Lend Lease said on Tuesday it has signed a conditional framework agreement with London Continental Railways to redevelop land at Stratford City, in east London. Construction of the development will begin after the London Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2013, Lend Lease said in a statement. Shares of Lend Lease are trading modestly lower.
In economic news, the Australian business confidence index edged lower to 16 in March from 13 in February, the National Australia Bank said on Tuesday. But the business conditions index rose 5 points to 13, with every sector reporting better conditions. Business activity levels are now at the strongest since January 2008, NAB said. Strong business outcomes were reported by the manufacturing, retail and recreational & personal services sectors.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar was marginally down following signs from the Reserve Bank of Australia that the official cash rate may be nearing the end of its upward path. In early trades, the Aussie was quoting at US$0.9276-US$0.9279, down slightly from Monday's close of US$0.9297-US$0.9299. The Australian dollar is currently trading at 0.9255 to the U.S. dollar.
The Japanese stock market is trading weak with profit taking and a stronger yen causing the decline.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index, which opened nearly 50 points down, was down 110.60 points or 0.98% at 11,141.30 at the end of the morning session.
Machinery, electric power and retail stocks are among the prominent losers. Gas, transport and financial stocks are also trading weak.
Honda Motor Co. said Tuesday it will begin leasing its new EV-neo electric motorcycle to business customers in Japan from December. "We are targeting corporate and individual customers running delivery services in the domestic market," the company said in a statement.
The EV-neo will be the company's second electric motorcycle following its first model launched in 1994. However, the Honda Motor stock is down in the red with a loss of about 1.2% due to overall negative sentiment.
Shares of Sanyo Electric Co. are up sharply on reports the firm's group operating profit could rise 50% from the figures estimated for last year to upwards of 45 billion yen in the year through March 2011.
Gulliver International is down after an industry group reported that used car sales in fiscal 2009 fell under 4 million units for the first time since the survey began in 1978.
Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd shares are drifting lower with investors pressing sales at the counter following the Baltic Dry Index suffering a fall for the sixth straight trading day on Monday.
Mitsui OSK Lines, JFE Holdings, Dowa Holdings, Nippon Steel, Matsui Securities, Sumitomo Realty, Fast Retailing, Sumitomo Trust & Banking, Yahoo Japan, Asahi Glass, Pacific Metals and Advantest are among the notable losers.
Isuzu Motors is up 4.3%. GS Yuasa, Clarion, Kobe Steel, Mitsubishi Chemicals, All Nippon Airways, Fuji Electric and Mitsubishi Rayon are trading notably higher.
On the economic front, an index measuring domestic corporate service prices came in at 102.6 in March, down 1.3% on year, the Bank of Japan said on Tuesday. That was slightly below forecasts for a 1.1% annual contraction following the 1.5% fall in February.
On a monthly basis, corporate service prices were up 0.2%, in line with expectations for a 0.3% gain after the 0.1% increase in February. For the first quarter of 2010, the corporate service price index came in at 102.4, down 1.7% on year.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar traded in the lower 93 yen level in early deals in Tokyo. The yen is currently trading at 92.76 to the U.S. dollar.
The South Korean market is trading lower with investors looking to take profits in banking and shipping stocks. Automobile and oil stocks are also exhibiting some weakness.
The benchmark KOSPI index, which drifted down to around 1,699 in early trades, is currently at 1,708, down 2.3 points or 0.13% from its previous close.
Among technology stocks, Hynix Semiconductor, LG Display LCD and LG Electronics are trading higher by 1.3%-1.7%, while heavyweight Samsung Electronics is trading in negative territory with a loss of about 1%.
In the banking space, Korea Exchange Bank, Shinhan Financial and KB Financial are down 0.6%-0.7%, while Woori Finance is down with a loss of 2%.
Among shipping stocks, STX Pan Ocean and Daewoo Shipbuilding are trading modestly higher, while Hyundai Heavy Industries and Samsung Heavy Industries are trading lower by 0.2% and 1% respectively.
Automobile stocks Kia Motor and Hyundai Motor are trading notably higher. However, Ssangyong Motor is down with a sharp loss of 2.3%.
Oil and steel stocks are trading mixed. Airliners and telecommunications stocks are also exhibiting a mixed trend.
Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan are trading weak, while Shanghai, Hong Kong and New Zealand are up in positive territory. Markets across the region had ended on a mixed note on Monday.
On Wall Street, stocks managed to close on the upside on Monday after a choppy ride. Rising hopes about a solution to Greece's debt problems and upbeat sentiment ahead of the reporting season contributed to the positive close.
The major averages all closed on the upside despite threatening to end lower in late-session dealing. The Dow advanced by 8.6 points or 0.1% to 11,006, the Nasdaq closed up 3.8 points or 0.2% at 2,457.9 and the S&P 500 edged up by 2.1 points or 0.2% to 1,196.5.
Major European markets closed nearly unchanged on Monday. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index edged up 0.1%, while the German DAX index and the French CAC 40 closed flat.
Crude oil prices slipped for the fourth consecutive session on Monday on demand concerns. Light, sweet crude for delivery in May, fell 58 cents to US$84.34 a barrel after rallying above US$85 earlier in the day.
Why MXN Could Be On The Move: The Bank of Mexico meets on Friday and will give its decision regarding rates. Currently, the benchmark rate is at a record low of 4.5% where it has been for the past seven central bank meetings. The Mexican economy experienced inflation of close to 5% from a year earlier and 0.71% when compared to February numbers. However, some analysts are dismissing this as a result of often volatile food and energy prices. Core inflation was at 0.36% for the month. "The relatively high March headline inflation reading was largely part of the salsa effect, as volatile ingredients like tomatoes and onions spiked up," said Luis Arcentales, an economist with Morgan Stanley in New York in an interview with 