Investing.com - Asian shares were mixed on Tuesday with Sydney up on solid trade and retail sales data and as the central bank kept interest rates steady as expected, citing weak commodity prices.
“The Australian dollar is adjusting to the significant declines in key commodity prices,” the Reserve Bank of Australia said in a statement.
Earlier in Australia June retail sales rose 0.7%, above the 0.5% gain seen while the trade balance for June showed a deficit of A$2.9 billion, a bit below the A$3.1 billion expected. Separately,Japan said June total average wages fell 2.4% year-on-year for the first drop in seven months.
The S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.67%, while the Nikkei 225 fell 0.20%. The Shanghai Composite was up 0.20% after the break.
Overnight, U.S. stocks were lower after the close on Monday, as losses in the Oil & Gas, Basic Materials and Technology sectors led shares lower.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.52%, while the S&P 500 index lost 0.28%, and the NASDAQ Composite index fell 0.25%.
On Monday, data showed U.S. manufacturing activity expanded at a slower rate than expected in July, fuelling speculation that the Federal Reserve could delay raising interest rates.
The Institute for Supply Management reported that its index of purchasing managers fell to 52.7 last month from a reading of 53.5 in June. Analysts had expected the manufacturing PMI to hold steady at 53.5 in July.
The report came shortly after data showed that U.S. personal spending rose 0.2% in June, in line with expectations. Personal spending increased by 0.7% in May, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated gain of 0.9%.
The report also showed that U.S. personal income rose 0.3% in June, exceeding expectations for an uptick of 0.2%. Personal income rose by 0.4% in May, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated increase of 0.5%.
Data on Monday showed that the euro zone's manufacturing sector continued to expand at a steady pace at the start of the third quarter.
Continuing expansion in Germany, Spain and Italy offset a record contraction of the Greek manufacturing sector last month after capital controls were imposed to avert a collapse of the country's financial system.