SINGAPORE, Aug 27 (Reuters) - Asian stocks fell on

Tuesday as investors pondered looming U.S. interest rate cuts

and awaited earnings from AI darling Nvidia ( NVDA ), while rising

tensions in the Middle East and supply concerns checked risk

sentiment and lifted oil prices.

Gold prices were just shy of a record peak, while the dollar

firmed and the yen hovered near its highest in three weeks as

investors sough safety amid geopolitical risks, with Israel and

Lebanon's Hezbollah exchanging fire on Sunday.

Also supporting crude prices was Libya's eastern-based

government announcement of the closure of all oil fields, which

halted production and exports.

Investors are on edge ahead of Nvidia's ( NVDA ) earnings

report on Wednesday, where anything short of a stellar forecast

from the AI chipmaker could jolt investor confidence in the

AI-fuelled rally.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan

was 0.36% lower on Tuesday, inching away from

the one-month high it touched in the previous session.

Japan's Nikkei eased 0.16%, while Chinese stocks

were also on the back foot.

China's blue stock index CSI300 fell 0.28% while

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was 1% lower in early

trading, dragged by lacklustre earnings from Temu-parent PDD

Holdings due to lower consumer spending.

Also weighing on sentiment was the move by Canada, following

the lead of the United States and European Union, to impose a

100% tariff on imports of Chinese electric vehicles and a 25%

tariff on imported steel and aluminium from China.

POWELL PIVOT

In an eagerly awaited speech, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome

Powell on Friday endorsed an imminent start to interest rate

cuts, putting the focus on the Fed's September meeting.

"With the Fed now firmly in the driver's seat, the markets

will be on an intense data watch," said Gary Dugan, CEO of the

Global CIO Office.

Investor focus will be on the U.S. personal consumption

expenditure price index - Fed's preferred gauge of inflation -

due to be released on Friday and then the August payrolls report

next week.

Markets are fully priced for a 25-basis-point cut from the

Fed next month, with 100 bps of easing anticipated in the next

three meetings of the year.

Mansoor Mohi-Uddin, chief economist at Bank of Singapore,

said Powell did not clarify the size of the Fed's upcoming rate

cuts noting it "will depend on incoming data, the evolving

outlook, and the balance of risks."

"We continue to see the Fed making two 25 bps rate cuts this

year to the benefit of risk assets. We think a 50bps cut next

month is only likely if the payrolls report shows another jump

in unemployment."

The yen was a shade lower at 144.67 per dollar,

giving up some of its safe haven gains from the previous session

which saw it rise to a three-week high of 143.45 per dollar.

The dollar index, which measures the U.S. currency

against six rivals, was last at 100.84, close to a 13-month low

of 100.53 it touched in the previous session.

Oil prices took a breather in early trading on Tuesday after

rising 3% in the previous session due to supply concerns in the

wake of escalating tensions in the Middle East and production

cuts in Libya.

Brent crude futures were 0.45% lower at $81.06 a

barrel, but not far from the two week high of $81.58 it touched

on Monday.

U.S. crude futures eased 0.5% to $77.01 a barrel but

remained close to a one-week high of $77.60 it touched

overnight.

Gold prices eased to $2,511 per ounce on Tuesday just

shy of the record high of $2,531.60 reached on Aug. 20.