Investing.com - Asian markets were mostly weaker on Tuesday as investors stayed cautious ahead of the start of a two-day Fed meeting widely expected to produce a rate hike of a quarter point.
Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.18%, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.17%. Toshiba shares rose 1%, outperforming most peers in the tech sector in Japan after the company said it had not come to a consensus over a dispute with Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC). On Monday, Argyle Street Management, an activist investor in Toshiba, told the troubled Japanese company it did not have to sell its memory chip arm to a consortium led by Bain, Reuters reported. Argyle made the remarks after Toshiba received a recent cash injection, the news agency added.
Australia reported the third quarter house price index fell 0.2%, compared with a 0.6% rise seen, while NAB released its business confidence with a reading of 6, down from 8 and its business survey with a reading of 12, down from 21 for November.
Earlier, Japan said producer prices rose a more than expected 0.4% in November on month and a 3.5% pace on year.
In Greater China, the Shanghai Composite slipped 0.57% and the Hang Seng index fell 0.46%.
Overnight, U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Monday, as gains in the Telecoms, Technology and Oil & Gas sectors led shares higher.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.23% to hit a new all time high, while the S&P 500 index climbed 0.32%, and the NASDAQ Composite index added 0.51%.