Investing.com - Share markets across the Asian Pacific region opened in a tight range on Tuesday, following Wall Street's loss of momentum overnight.
By 11:30 am AEDT (12:30 am GMT) the S&P/ASX 200 and KOSPI 200 were trading flat while the Nikkei 225 eased 0.2%.
U.S. stocks took a downward turn as investors await Federal Reserve Chair Powell's testimony and key jobs data for February, due later this week.
Despite NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) climbing 3.6%, the overall weakness across other tech giants led to a market dip. Apple shares (NASDAQ:AAPL) fell 2.5% after the European Union imposed a $2 billion fine, accusing the iPhone maker of setting unfair rules for music-streaming app developers.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 97 points, or 0.3%, to 38990, while the S&P 500 dropped 0.1% to 5130, and the NASDAQ Composite slipped 0.4% to 16207.
In the commodities market, Brent crude oil prices decreased by 0.8% to US$82.85 a barrel, while gold prices surged 1.6% to US$2,115.87. In the local bond market, the yield on Australian 2-year government bonds decreased to 3.77%, and the 10-year yield also dropped to 4.10%. Meanwhile, US Treasury notes saw an uptick, with the 2-year yield at 4.61% and the 10-year yield at 4.22%.
The Australian dollar was trading at 65.08 US cents, slightly down from a previous close of 65.25.
In Asian markets, Chinese shares closed higher as the annual plenary sessions in Beijing got underway. Investors are hopeful that more supportive policies will emerge from the meetings, which will conclude on March 11.
European markets remained mostly steady, with the pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index unchanged at 497.41. Investors are gearing up for a busy week, which includes the European Central Bank meeting on Thursday and the release of U.S. monthly jobs data on Friday.