Asian Market Update

Asian stocks dipped in early trade on Tuesday with disappointing Chinese data and a Wall Street slip dampening the mood, although Japan bucked the trend and rose sharply on follow-through momentum generated the Bank of Japan's surprise monetary easing last week.

The dollar was firmly on the front foot, hovering at multi-year highs against the yen and euro, after the BOJ's easing on Friday added pressure on the European Central Bank to follow suit.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.15 per cent. Wall Street closed on slight losses on Monday, taking a breather from a recent rally.