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Hong Kong - Asian markets were mixed on Tuesday, after Wall Street retreated from record highs and US analysts warned that a recent equities rally could see a sharp reverse.
Investors are hoping to get a better handle on the state of the global economy with the release this week of Chinese economic data as well as minutes from the Federal Reserve's most recent policy meeting.
Tokyo eased 0.42% to finish at 15 314.41, while Sydney fell 0.15% to 5 510.9 and Seoul was flat, nudging up 1.54 points to 2 006.66.
Shanghai added 0.20% to 2 064.02 and Hong Kong closed flat, ticking up 0.46 points to 23 541.38.
After a long Independence Day weekend US shares returned on Monday for the first time since Thursday's better-than-expected jobs report.
However, they ended in the red on profit-taking while there were warnings that global markets could be headed for further losses after enjoying a positive run-up in the past few weeks, which has seen the Dow and S&P 500 touch new records.
Nobel prizewinning economist Joseph Stiglitz said in a television interview he was "very uncomfortable" with current stock prices, while Raymond James managing director Jeffrey Saut said in a note that stocks are vulnerable to a 10% to 12% decline in the weeks ahead.
The Dow slipped 0.26% after breaking 17 000 for the first time on Thursday, while the S&P 500 eased 0.39%. The Nasdaq declined 0.77%.
The dollar also fell in New York, sitting at ¥101.87 late in trade, well down from the ¥102.11 in Tokyo earlier in the day.
On Tuesday morning the dollar bought ¥101.80.
The euro fetched $1.3589 and ¥138.32 in Tokyo, against $1.3604 and ¥138.59 in US trade.
On Wednesday the Fed is due to release the minutes from its most recent policy meeting.
"Attention is now turning to US corporate earnings and the US Fed's stance on monetary policy, especially the pace of stimulus tapering after last week's strong jobs data," Rakuten Securities senior market analyst Masayuki Doshida told Dow Jones Newswires.
Also on Wednesday China will announce inflation data for June, following that up with trade figures on Thursday. There are hopes for another upbeat set of results following a recent string of good news, including on manufacturing activity.
In Seoul Samsung Electronics ended 0.23% higher despite warning of a 25% plunge in its operating profit in the second quarter of the year as its smartphone business grapples with a strong won and cheap rivals from China.
Analysts said the weak figures had already been priced in, resulting in a more than 10% fall since early June.
Oil prices were mixed. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for August delivery dipped 20 cents to $103.33 while Brent crude for August was down 52c to $109.72.
Gold fetched $1 322.43 an ounce at 13:30 compared with $1 314.03 late on Monday.
In other markets:
- Mumbai fell 1.98% to 25 582.11 points.
Unitech dived 12.54% to 28.25 rupees and Jaiprakash Associates fell 9.82% to 66.15 rupees.
- Bangkok gained 0.29% to 1 507.58.
Coal producer Banpu lost 0.86% to 28.75, while Bangkok Bank added 0.76% to 198.50.
- Singapore eased 0.25% to 3 283.34.
DBS Bank was down 0.52% to Sg$17.07 while Singapore Airlines fell 0.10% to Sg$10.39.
- Kuala Lumpur ended flat at 1 892.65, gaining just 0.15 points.
Financial firm CIMB Group Holdings added 0.3% to 7.28 ringgit, while SapuraKencana Petroleum rose 0.2% to 4.41. Telekom Malaysia lost 0.2% to 6.36 ringgit.
- Jakarta ended up 0.72% at 5 024.71. Telecommunications company Indosat gained 2.19% at 3 735 rupiah, while Hero Supermarket fell 6.04% to 2 800 rupiah.
- Taipei rose 0.11% to 9 530.98.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing shed 1.10% to Tw$134.5 while Hon Hai Precision was 0.97% higher at Tw$104.5.
- Wellington sank 0.39% to 5 166.08.
Air New Zealand was off 2.06% at NZ$2.135 and Fletcher Building eased 0.66% to NZ$9.00.
- Manila closed 0.72% lower, dipping 50.58 points to 6 948.52.
Ayala Land retreated 1.43% to 30.95 pesos, Philippine Long Distance Telephone gave up 0.60% to 3 002.00 pesos and Megaworld eased 0.21% to 4.72 pesos.
