FX.co ★ Asian Markets Mostly Lower

On Tuesday, Asian stock markets are primarily in the negative territory, despite favorable cues from Wall Street, as traders demonstrate caution with upcoming monetary policy announcements by the Australian and Japanese central banks. The US Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement, set for Wednesday, is also keenly anticipated for indications about future interest rate changes. Notwithstanding these uncertainties, Asian markets ended Monday mostly in positive territory.

The Fed is likely to maintain the current interest rates, given recent inflation readings have dampened optimism about a potential rate cut in June. The focus is now on the bank's upcoming statements and economic forecast, which could significantly affect the outlook for interest rates.

This week will also feature monetary policy announcements from the Bank of England and the Swiss National Bank.

In the meantime, the Australian stock market has registered marginal growth after slight gains in the previous session. This growth pattern takes cues from Wall Street's favorable position and is bolstered by performances across sectors led by mining and energy stocks, in line with surging commodity prices. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 barely lags behind the 7,700 mark.

Major miners such as Rio Tinto and BHP Group are up by nearly 1 percent each, whereas Fortescue Metals and Mineral Resources are showing an upward trend of more than 1 percent and 2 percent respectively. Oil stocks are also on the rise, with Origin Energy and Woodside Energy, among others, registering gains.

Among tech stocks, however, shares of Afterpay owner Block and WiseTech Global are slightly down while Gold miners are recording gains.

The major Australian banks show mixed results, with Commonwealth Bank, Westpac, and National Australia Bank exhibiting a slight downturn while ANZ Banking remains steady.

In economic news, the Reserve Bank of Australia is due to finish its monetary policy meeting on Tuesday, when it is anticipated to maintain the benchmark lending rate at 4.35 percent.

On a similar note, the Japanese stock market is down markedly on Tuesday, with the Nikkei 225 falling below the 39,600 level, in spite of generally positive trends from Wall Street. This is largely due to losses in heavyweight index stocks and technology shares, as investors brace for a potential change in the Bank of Japan's policy.

The Central Bank is predicted to cease its negative interest rates and yield curve control policies later this year. Currently, SoftBank Group and Fast Retailing, among other companies, are experiencing losses.

In contrast, Sumitomo Realty & Development is seeing growth of more than 4 percent.

Finally, in the currency market, the Aussie dollar records a value of $0.656 on Tuesday, while the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 149 yen-range on the same day.In other parts of Asia, South Korea's market has declined by 1.2 percent, while other markets including China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Taiwan have seen smaller decreases ranging from 0.1 to 0.6 percent each. Conversely, New Zealand, Singapore and Indonesia have seen their markets rise between 0.1 and 0.6 percent each.

On Wall Street, stocks receded during the trading day on Monday after a robust early session but still closed primarily in the green. This increase allowed both the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 to recover following three consecutive sessions of closing lower.

Though the major averages faced some turbulence as the closing bell approached, they finished the day in the green. The Nasdaq rose by 130.27 points or 0.8 percent to reach 16,103.45, the S&P 500 increased by 32.33 points or 0.6 percent to land on 5,149.42, and the Dow gained 75.66 points or 0.2 percent to finish at 38,790.43.

In Europe, the major markets saw a moderate decrease throughout the day. The French CAC 40 Index lowered by 0.2 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index slightly decreased by 0.1 percent and the German DAX Index closed just shy of its opening line.

Crude oil prices saw an uptick on Monday following concerns about supply chain interruptions due to geopolitical risks. This increase stems from continued drone attacks by Ukraine on Russian oil refineries as well as data showing a decline in crude exports from both Iraq and Saudi Arabia. As a result, West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April escalated $1.68 or 2.1 percent to stand at $82.72 a barrel.