Asian stocks posted a cautious open on Tuesday, tracking an uninspiring lead from Wall Street amid weakened commodity prices.

Major US averages finished mixed overnight, as energy shares fell in tandem with oil prices and Apple declined a day before its quarterly results. The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 edged down 0.1 and 0.2 percent respectively, while the Nasdaq Composite finished a tad above the flatine.

Traders were also awaiting the release of Chinese industrial profits for September at 9.30am local time. August's report showed a near 9 percent annual fall, the biggest drop since the National Bureau of Statistics began monitoring the data in 2011.

Nikkei

Share Market Live

NSE

slips 0.1 percent

Japan's Nikkei 225 nursed modest losses at the start of trade, remaining just shy of the 19,000 mark that it briefly reclaimed on Monday.

Corporate earnings will likely hog the spotlight on Tuesday, with report cards from Canon, Mitsubishi Motors and Fanuc on tap. Canon declined 2 percent, while Mitsubishi Motors slipped 0.5 percent. Shares of industrial robot maker Fanuc retreated 1 percent.

Seven & I Holdings surged 3.4 percent following news that U.S. hedge fund Third Point had bought a stake in the Japanese retailer and wants the company to downsize its general merchandise business to improve profitability, sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

ASX up 0.1 percent

Australia's S&P ASX 200 index was directionless in early trade.

Resources and oil plays were on the back foot; Woodside Petroleum and Santos tanked more than 1 percent each after declines in crude oil prices overnight. BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto lost 0.6 and 1 percent respectively.

Iron ore minnow BC Iron said on Tuesday it would trim its rail costs through an agreement that allows it to pay less to use Fortescue Metals' rail line when iron ore prices fall below USD 56 a tonne. Shares of the former gained 1.7 percent, but the latter slumped 5.5 percent.

Pension services firm Link Group, Australia's biggest initial public offering so far this year, spiked 11 percent on its market debut.

Meanwhile, National Australia Bank placed its shares on a trading halt, fueling speculation that Japan's Nippon Life Insurance will buy its insurance unit in a deal valued at about USD 1.8 billion.

Kospi drops 0.2 percent

South Korea's Kospi index edged down, with heavyweight components leading declines.

The bourse's top two weighted stocks Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor shed 0.4 and 0.6 percent respectively, while Posco plunged 2 percent.

Refiners S-Oil and SK Innovation dropped 2 and 0.9 percent respectively. LG Chem receded 1.2 percent.

First Published:Oct 27, 2015 7:47 AM IST