Asian equities mostly traded lower on Tuesday, following overnight losses on Wall Street as technology and artificial intelligence stocks remained under selling pressure. Investors also remained cautious ahead of the US midterm elections, while falling oil prices amid signs of diplomatic progress between the US and Iran did little to improve overall market sentiment.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 (NKY:IND) markets closed, with the Japanese yen weakening toward 158 per dollar. South Korea’s benchmark KOSPI fell 2.59% to around 5,706. Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index (HSI) rose 0.4% to around 23,500, and mainland China’s Shanghai Composite (SHCOMP) fell 1.2% to 3,595, while the Shenzhen Component dropped 0.2% to 10,998. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 (AS51) rose 0.2% to 8,870 in early Tuesday trading. Conversely, the Australian dollar fell below $0.70 to a two-week low.

In Australia, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) raised its cash rate target by 25 basis points to 4.85% in a 6-3 majority decision, with three members voting to hold rates steady.

In China, the People's Bank of China (PBoC) announced it will raise the foreign exchange reserve requirement ratio (RRR) for financial institutions by 2 percentage points, to 6% from 4%, effective November 15, to tighten dollar liquidity and slow the yuan’s recent appreciation.

In commodities, crude oil traded below $97 per barrel on Tuesday after plunging more than 6% in the previous session.