Investing.com – Asian equities were mostly lower in morning trade on Tuesday as the markets took a breather after the previous day's rally, while reports that the White House confirmed a time for U.S. President Donald Trump’s meeting with North Korean Kim Jong Un caught some attention.
Overnight, Wall Street's three major indexes rose, as the Nasdaq hit a record closing high following a rally in technology stocks.
Trump would meet with Kim at 9 a.m. Singapore time on June 12, Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said on Monday, but noting that the U.S. would continue to economically isolate North Korea.
“Our policy hasn’t changed, and as the president stated, we have sanctions on, they’re very powerful and we would not take those sanctions off unless North Korea denuclearized,” Sanders said.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is scheduled to meet with Trump on Thursday at the White House to discuss the upcoming summit with Kim.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed 0.3% by 9:35PM ET (01:35 GMT). Sharp Corp (T:6753)'s made headlines after the company said it is considering to acquire Toshiba Corp's personal computer unit for $45.5 million.
China’s Shanghai Composite and the Shenzhen Component both opened 0.1% lower, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index also fell 0.2%.
Elsewhere, South Korea’s KOSPI fell 0.2%, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.3%. South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix Inc (KS:000660) received some attention after the company said on Tuesday it was being investigated by Chinese regulators.
"We are fully cooperating with the investigation," an SK Hynix spokesman said. He declined to give further details.
Looking ahead, investors’ attention are likely to turn to the RBA meeting due later today. Aussie net exports are also due, followed by GDP figures on Wednesday.