Low appetite in Asian stock markets

Asia-Pacific markets were mixed as Australia held interest rates steady. Asia-Pacific markets were mixed as investors weighed the Reserve Bank of Australia’s decision to keep interest rates on hold at 4.10 percent. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 pared earlier losses and rose 0.4 percent. The Australian dollar fell 0.3 percent to 0.665 against the U.S. dollar. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.08 percent from a 33-year high set on Monday, and the Topix lost a smaller 0.71 percent. South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.26 percent and the Kosdaq fell 0.49 percent. The country’s consumer price index grew at a slower rate of 2.7 percent in June, marking its fifth straight month of declines. Mainland Chinese markets were also in negative territory, with the Shanghai Composite Index down 0.25 percent and the Shenzhen Component Index down 0.19 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index bucked the trend, rising 0.22 percent, led by energy and industrial stocks.