Asia shares ease back

Asian markets mostly fell on Tuesday, retreating from the previous day’s gains, but Tokyo bucked the trend as the yen dipped against the dollar. The euro edged up after suffering losses in the previous session. Tokyo rose 0.23 per cent or 34.00 points to finish at 14,636.52, the Nikkei’s highest close in nearly two months, while Sydney was a tad lower, skidding 1.1 points to 5,511.7. Seoul dropped 0.63 or 12.72 points to 1,997.63 and Shanghai fell 0.34 per cent, or 6.91 points, to 2,034.57. Hong Kong ended almost flat, dipping 18.88 points to 22,944.30. There were no cues from London and New York, where markets were closed for public holidays. With few catalysts to fuel buying, dealers took their cash off the table. Attention is on the release this week of key US data, including revised economic growth for the first three months of the year, according to AFP.