Asian shares traded mostly lower in a narrow range on Tuesday following a muted session, with US markets closed for the Memorial Day holiday. US futures were flat, while oil prices dipped ahead of key economic data releases, including consumer confidence and housing prices, due later in the day. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 slipped 0.2% to 37,451.60 after Bank of Japan governor Kazuo Ueda signaled a potential interest rate hike in the coming months amid rising inflation. Ueda pointed to soaring food costs—highlighting that rice prices have doubled over the past year—and noted that Japan’s inflation is now outpacing that of the US and Europe, exceeding the central bank’s target. “We are now closer to the target than at any time during the last three decades, though we are not quite there. Our recent path has been affected in a unique way by supply shocks,” Ueda said.Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.3% to 23,359.94, while China’s Shanghai Composite was largely unchanged at 3,346.48. South Korea’s Kospi slipped 0.4% to 2,632.93, and Taiwan’s Taiex dropped 0.6%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 held steady at 8,359.20. In commodities, US benchmark crude oil declined by 23 cents to $61.30 per barrel, while Brent crude, the global standard, slipped 20 cents to $63.92. In currency markets, the US dollar weakened to 142.23 yen from 142.85, while the euro edged up to $1.1403 from $1.1388. Meanwhile, US stock futures pointed to early gains, with the S&P 500 future up 0.9% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average future advancing 0.8%.
