The leading Asian stock exchanges began Tuesday's trading with minor declines.
In Tokyo, the key Nikkei 225 index had fallen by 0.2 percent at lunchtime, while the broader Topix index increased by 0.3.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index decreased by 0.7.
Gloomy mining stocks dominated the composite indexes in Shanghai and Shenzhen, which fell by 0.3 and 1.0, respectively.
