Asian Stocks Mostly Down Ahead of MSCI, Central Bank News

Shares in Asia mostly slipped Tuesday amid lingering worries about the U.K. possibly leaving the European Union.

But the mood was generally less dire than Monday, as investors wait for the results of three key central-bank monetary policy meetings. The U.S. Federal Reserve, Bank of Japan and Bank of England are gathering this week.

"It's the calm before the storm," said Alex Wijaya, senior sales trader at CMC Markets in Singapore.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average was down 1.3%, Korea's Kospi fell 0.4% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 lost 1.8%. The Hang Seng Index retreated 0.1%, while the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.2%.

Falling Japanese stocks added to the previous day's losses, despite the yen holding steady in the morning. Monday, the benchmark Nikkei had posted its biggest drop in six weeks to a two-month low, while the yen moved higher. Investors typically scramble for yen, seen as a safe-haven asset, during times of market turmoil.

Tuesday morning, the Japanese yen held steady at 106.01 to one U.S. dollar. A stronger yen hurts the competitiveness of Japanese exporters.

Banking shares in Japan slumped as interest rates trended lower. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group sank 2.4%, and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group was down 2%.

Elsewhere, Chinese stocks rebounded slightly after a 3.2% selloff on Monday. Investors were waiting for MSCI's decision, to be announced Tuesday evening in New York, on whether to include Chinese stocks in its widely tracked Emerging Markets Index.

Amid the uncertainty leading up the U.K. referendum next week, investors are shedding riskier assets such as stocks and buying yen and gold, Mr. Wijaya said.

Gold rose overnight and was recently trading at $1,284.50 per troy ounce.

Kosaku Narioka contributed to this article.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 14, 2016 00:05 ET (04:05 GMT)

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