Summary The dollar slipped to 117.22 yen from 117.45 in late trading Monday.
HONG KONG (AP) - Most Asian stock benchmarks were relatively subdued on Tuesday as investors waited to see whether Australia s central bank policymakers would announce an interest rate cut to help shore up economic growth.
Japan s benchmark Nikkei 225 dipped 0.4 percent to 17,479.92 while South Korea s lost 0.3 percent to 1,947.14. Australia s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.2 percent to 5,636.10 while Hong Kong s Hang Seng lost 0.1 percent to 24,458.67.
The Shanghai Composite Index on mainland China rose 0.8 percent to 3,153.43, rebounding a day after poor factory data dragged down shares.
There s growing expectation that the Reserve Bank of Australia could announce a rate cut after its meeting today, following a recent surprise move by Canada, another commodity-producing country. With inflation easing as commodity prices slump, policymakers have more space to maneuver to bolster economic growth by cutting rates. But economists are doubtful that Australia needs to act just yet.
"Markets are betting that the Reserve Bank of Australia will deliver a rate cut but we do not expect one. If policy were indeed to be on hold, markets are bound to react quite strongly, at least in the short term," Societe-Generale economists Michala Marcussen and Klaus Baader wrote in a research note.
U.S. stock indexes ended higher after a late rally by energy companies as oil prices surged for a third day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1.1 percent to 17,361.04 while the S&P 500 rose 1.3 percent to 2,020.85. The Nasdaq composite rose 0.9 percent to 4,676.69.
U.S. benchmark crude oil gained 49 cents to $50.06 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $1.33 to close at $49.57 a barrel Monday in New York, its highest level in nearly a month. Brent crude, a benchmark for international oil, rose 22 cents to $54.99 a barrel in London.
The dollar slipped to 117.22 yen from 117.45 in late trading Monday. The euro rose to $1.1346 from $1.1341.
