Investing.com - Asian shares fell on Tuesday with markets cautious on a steady drumbeat of statements that the Federal Reserve will raise rates again as early as next month.
The latest signal came from Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank President Patrick Harker who said Monday that two to three rate hikes are possible this year if the economy continues to grow as projected.
The Nikkei 225 fell 0.67%, while the S&P/ASX 200 eased 0.16%. The Shanghai Composite dropped 0.92% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was
last down 0.20%.
The Chinese yuan fell against the dollar Tuesday morning after the People's Bank of China set a weaker fixing for the first time in three days at 6.5468 Tuesday morning, compared with Monday's mid-point of 6.5455.
Overnight, U.S. stocks fell slightly, as hawkish comments by key Federal Reserve policymakers on the potential for multiple rate hikes this year outweighed a surge in technology and semiconductor, which received a lift on Monday from a strong performance by Apple Inc (NASDAQ:NASDAQ:AAPL).
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 8.01 or 0.05% to 17,492.93, while the NASDAQ Composite index lost 3.78 or 0.08% to 4,765.78, closing on Monday near session-lows. The S&P 500 Composite index, meanwhile, dipped 4.28 or 0.21% to 2,048.04, as eight of 10 sectors closed in the green.