RBA, US and China trade war, currencies

Australian shares slipped ahead of the Reserve Bank of Australia's interest rate decision on Tuesday, due around 3 p.m. 24:30. HK / SIN.

The S & P / ASX 200 fell 0.11% in early trade as most sectors went down. But the heavily weighted financial sub-index rose more than 0.3% as shares in the country's so-called Big Four banks advanced: Australia and New Zealand Banking Group gained 0.34%, Commonwealth Bank of Australia added 0.33%, Westpac was up 0.78% and National Australia Bank rose 0.49%.

Analysts expect the central bank to be on hold, and markets have only priced at a 1[ads1]2% chance of an interest rate cut, according to Tapas Strickland, director of finance and markets at National Australia Bank. [19659002] "The RBA indicated in August that it was in assessment mode and would wait for a" collection of additional evidence, "Strickland wrote in a note Tuesday morning." Recent data suggests the economy remains soft with little evidence of retailing taking off up the back of the tax cut, although we expect RBA to wait until next month's data before deciding that spending should be shifted between quarters. "

Manufacturers will look for Australian Australian July sales figures to see recent measures – such as income tax cuts and interest rate cuts – increasing consumption This data is due at 9:30 hp / SIN.

Elsewhere, Japan's Nikkei 225 slipped 0.1% while the Topix index was largely flat.

Overall, MSCI Asia Index from Japan fell by 0.22%.

Overnight Wall Street was closed for a public holiday.

Developments on the US and China Trade Front continue to stay followed, following the recent implementation of several tariffs from both Washington and Beijing for each other's goods over the weekend.

The United States began imposing 15% tariffs on a variety of Chinese goods on Sunday, including footwear, clothing and other consumer goods.

China, for its part, is slowing down on retaliatory duties on US products, and the majority of the duties are set to take effect December 15. On Sunday, the Chinese government pushed for increased tariffs of between 5% and 10% on a number of major US goods exported to China, including soybeans and crude oil.

The US-China is still no closer to easing tensions with a date for dealers to meet in September, but that is yet to be determined, NAB's Strickland wrote. "With the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1, we do not expect much progress in trade in the short term as China's focus increasingly turns to anniversary celebrations and then to the Party's fourth plenary scheduled for October as well." 19659002] The market reaction in Hong Kong will also be in focus, after a Reuters report Monday that city chief executive Carrie Lam said she would "quit" if she "had a choice." She also said it may be "very limited" room for her to solve the current crisis in Hong Kong, which has been plagued by weekly turmoil.

Shares in Taiwan are closed for trading on Tuesday due to a holiday. [19659016] Asia-Pacific Market Indexes Chart

The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, stood at 99,073 after rising from levels around 98.8 yesterday.

The Japanese yen was trading at 106.22 against the dollar after levels above 106.3 seen in the previous session. The Australian dollar changed hands to $ 0.6709 after falling from levels above $ 0.672 yesterday.

Oil prices fell in the morning in Asian trading hours, with the international benchmark index for Brent crude oil futures falling 0.1% to $ 58.60 per barrel and US crude futures falling 0.58% to $ 54.78 per barrel.

Here is a look at some of the data available today:

• Australia: Retail Sales at. 09:30 HK / SIN
• Reserve Bank of Australia interest rate decision at. 12:30 HK / SIN

– Reuters and CNBC's Evelyn Cheng contributed to this report.