U.S. Treasury yields rise; Australia, Japan data on tap

Asia-Pacific markets were mixed Tuesday as investors awaited consumer confidence data from Japan, with focus also on U.S. inflation numbers to assess the Federal Reserve’s rate cut path.

Australia’s business conditions and confidence were little changed in March, according to a survey by the National Australian Bank. Business conditions fell one point to +9, while business confidence rose one point to +1, remaining below average.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed 0.49%, while the broad-based Topix gained 0.33%.

South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.24%, reversing gains made earlier in the day, while the small-cap Kosdaq was down 0.3%.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was 0.77% up, while the mainland Chinese CSI300 was 0.43% lower.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.48%, rebounding from Monday’s losses.

Overnight in the U.S., all three major indexes remained largely range bound, with investors awaiting the consumer price index report out on Wednesday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average inched lower by 0.03%, while the S&P 500 ticked down by 0.04%. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite closed marginally higher by 0.03%.

Treasury yields rose, with the rate on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note up about 4 basis points to 4.42%.

— CNBC’s Hakyung Kim and Yun Li contributed to this report.