Asian shares closed lower on Tuesday after a relatively quiet overnight session, due to U.S. markets being closed for a holiday on Monday.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 slid 224.11 points, or 1%, to 21,925.10, as financials, manufacturing and energy-related names traded in negative territory, while technology stocks finished the day mixed.
Automakers were mostly lower, with Toyota closing 1.2% Mitsubishi Motors edged higher by 0.4%, outperforming its peers. The move followed a Nikkei report that Mitsubishi Corporation was looking into raising its stake in Mitsubishi Motors to approximately 20% through a tender offer. Mitsubishi Corporation, which traded down 1.8%, said it had yet to reach a decision
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index slumped 241.8 points, or 0.8%, to 30,873.63, as markets resumed trade after a long Lunar New Year weekend. Financials dragged on the broader market, with China Construction Bank closing down 1.8% and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China lower by 1.6%
HSBC shares were down 3.1% after the bank announced on Tuesday that its reported profit before tax rose 141.4% to $17.17 billion in the year 2017. Its full-year profit before tax rose 10.9% to $20.99 billion after adjusting for foreign currency translation and one-off items.
Property developers, telcos and energy-related stocks slipped, while technology stocks were mixed. Heavyweight Tencent edged down 0.3% by the end of the day.
Over in South Korea, indexes faltered with losses seen in heavyweight technology names: Samsung Electronics fell 2% and SK Hynix declined 1.3% by the end of the day.
The manufacturing sector was mixed. Shares of steelmakers Poscoclosed higher by 0.3% and Hyundai Steel ended the day off by 0.2% The moves came after South Korea's trade ministry on Monday indicated it would not sit on its hands if the U.S. implemented tariffs on steel imports. Yonhap News Agency said South Korea would weigh filing a complaint with the World Trade Organization if the U.S. decided to impose those tariffs.
Down Under, indexes were flat as the 1.9% gain in the information technology sector was offset by declines seen in other sectors. The heavily weighted financials sub-index slipped 0.2%, and the materials sub-index was lower by 0.3%
Minutes from the Reserve Bank of Australia released on Tuesday indicated policymakers were sanguine about the uptick in the global economy. RBA members also noted that wage growth "was yet to pick up" despite the robust job market and highlighted that household debt remained "elevated."
Meanwhile, mining major BHP announced after the market close that underlying profit for the six months ending December stood at $4.05 billion U.S., a 25% increase from one year ago. That was below an estimate of $4.3 billion U.S. from Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Mainland China markets remained closed till Feb. 21 while other regional markets, including Taiwan, remained on holiday.
In other markets
The Kospi in Korea decreased 27.7 points, or 1.1%, to 2,415.12
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index lost 11.35 points, or 0.3%, to 3,476.53
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 fell 16.98 points, or 0.2%, to 8,098.27
The ASX 200 dipped 0.73 points to 5,940.85
