Asian stocks were on the defensive on Tuesday after oil prices eased and as investors braced for central bank policy meetings in the United States and Japan later this week.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS was down 0.1 percent, while Japan's Nikkei .N225 slipped 0.4 percent.
Equity markets in the U.S. recovered from early session weakness overnight, however were unable to end the session in positive territory as oil led energy declines weighed upon the major bourse's. The DJIA ended -0.15% lower to 17,977.24 points, while the S&P 500 closed -0.18% down as energy (-1.08%) and industrials (-0.61%) led six out of ten components lower.
Business Sentiment in Germany unexpectedly declined during April, sliding to 106.6 (exp: 107.0) from 106.7 in March. The current assessment index slipped to 113.2 (exp: 113.8) from 113.8 previously, however the expectations index pushed higher to 100.4 (exp: 100.9) from 100.0 previously.
Regional equity markets in Europe slumped on Monday as soft German data and broad mining weakness weighed upon sentiment. The U.K. FTSE 100 returned -0.78% as Rio Tinto (-4.2%) and BHP Billiton (-5.8%) tanked, while the German Dax fell -0.76% and the FTSEurofirst 300 declined -0.57%.
Reference: Reuters, MKS Group
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