Shares in Asia-Pacific were mixed on Tuesday as concerns about the pandemic continued to linger.
The Nikkei 225 dropped 134.74 points, or 0.5%, to 28,991.89.
The Bank of Japan on Tuesday announced its decision to keep monetary policy steady. The Japanese central bank also revised downward its forecast for core inflation in fiscal year 2021 to 0.1% from the 0.5% projected in January.
Multiple regions, including Tokyo and Osaka, were recently placed under a new state of emergency to curb the spread of coronavirus infections.
The Japanese yen traded at 108.30 per U.S. dollar, still weaker than levels around 107.5 against the greenback seen late last week.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index let go of 11.29 points to 28,941.54.
In corporate developments, HSBC reported that its pre-tax profit rose 79% in the first quarter to $5.8 billion — higher than analysts’ expectations of $3.34 billion, according to estimates compiled by the bank. Shares of HSBC in Hong Kong jumped 2% on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong-listed shares of Meituan popped 2.62% despite China’s State Administration for Market Regulation announcing Monday that the Chinese tech giant was being investigated for suspected monopolistic practices.
The company said it will actively cooperate with the SAMR’s investigation and strictly implement relevant requirements. Meituan also said its business operations "remain normal."
The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7771, following an earlier high of $0.7803.
In other markets
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 regained 13.28 points, or 0.3%, to 5,090.52
In Singapore, the Straits Times index gained 9.53 points, or 0.3%, to 3,214.43.
In Korea, the Kospi index docked 2.11 points, or 0.1%, to 3,215.42.
In Taiwan, the Taiex index added 23.61 points, or 0.1%, to 17,595.90
Markets in New Zealand returned from a long weekend, with the NZX 50 falling 30.11 points, or 0.2%, to 12,620.52
In Australia, the ASX 200 slipped 11.73 points, or 0.2%, to 7,033.83.
