Asia shares mixed with Sydney up as RBA signals easy view, Nikkei down

Investing.com - Shares in Tokyo fell on Tuesday as the yen gathered strength in late morning trade, but Sydney gained after the central bank held interest rates steady at a record low.

The S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.19%, while the Nikkei 225 fell 0.13% and the Shanghai Composite fell 0.95%. The Reserve Bank of Australia held the cash rate steady at 2.25%, but signalled it might move to cut further to spur growth.

"At today’s meeting the Board judged that, having eased monetary policy at the previous meeting, it was appropriate to hold interest rates steady for the time being. Further easing of policy may be appropriate over the period ahead, in order to foster sustainable growth in demand and inflation consistent with the target," a statement said.

"The Board will further assess the case for such action at forthcoming meetings."

Overnight, the NASDAQ Composite index cracked the 5,000 barrier for the first time in 15 years, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average reached a record-high Monday, on the first day of trading for the month of March.

Led by gains in technology and consumer discretionary sectors, stocks were up broadly on U.S. equities markets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.86% or 155.93 to 18,288.63, while the S&P 500 rose 0.61% or 12.89 to 2,117.39.

The NASDAQ Composite index reached the 5,000 mark in morning trading, before closing at 5,008.10 -- marking only the third time the index has closed above 5,000 ever. The NASDAQ gained 44.57 or 0.90% on the day.

On Monday, data showed that U.S. manufacturing activity expanded at the slowest pace in 13 months in February, as an upbeat U.S. growth report published on Friday continued to support.

In a report, the Institute for Supply Management said its index of purchasing managers fell to 52.9 last month from a reading of 53.5 in January. Analysts had expected the manufacturing PMI to decline to 53.0 in February.

Separately, the Commerce Department reported that U.S. consumer spending slid 0.2% in February after falling 0.3% in the previous month. Economists had forecast a 0.1% decline.

Investors now turn their attention to the upcoming European Central Bank meeting on Thursday, where it was expected to announce details of its quantitative easing program.