Asian stocks were mostly lower Tuesday, AP reported. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 dipped nearly 1.0 percent to finish at 19,979.90. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was down 1.5 percent at 5,667.50. South Korean markets were closed for the Memorial Day holiday. Hong Kong's Hang Seng edged up 0.3 percent to 25,951.35, while the Shanghai Composite inched down nearly 0.1 percent to 3,090.04. Benchmark U.S. crude rose 10 cents to $47.50 a barrel. It fell 26 cents to $47.40 a barrel in New York Monday. Brent crude, used to price international oils, gained 13 cents to $49.60 a barrel in London. In currency trading, the euro fell to $1.1269 from $1.1276 late Monday in Asia. The dollar weakened to 109.63 yen from 110.48 yen. European shares extended their fall on Tuesday, Reuters reported. The pan-European STOXX 600 benchmark dropped 0.4 percent, falling for a second session, while euro zone stocks and blue-chips followed suit. The greatest downward pull came from healthcare stocks. Swiss drugmaker Roche fell 4.5 percent after investors were disappointed by findings in its Aphinity study for a key breast cancer treatment. The euro has gained 5.6 percent against the dollar over the past two months. Among the handful of gainers, Vestas Wind rose 2.9 percent after MHI Vestas, a joint venture with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, said it was launching a new wind turbine. Also among top gainers was Lufthansa, rising 2.6 percent after the German carrier's CEO said he was optimistic on demand and improving traffic from the United States and Asia. UK shares drifted further on Tuesday from last week's record high, Reuters reported. The blue chip FTSE 100 inched 0.1 percent lower to 7,517.73 points by 0924 GMT, while the more domestically-exposed mid cap index dropped 0.8 percent to a two-week low. Large caps came under pressure for a second session in a row as sterling continued its climb to hit a 12-day high as investors bet on a win for the ruling Conservative party in the election. A stronger pound tends to weigh on the FTSE 100's more internationally-facing constituents. Medical technology firm ConvaTec was the biggest individual faller, down nearly 5 percent after two investors sold a higher stake via a placing. Luxury goods firm Burberry was also down 2.7 percent after HSBC cut its rating on the stock to "reduce" from "hold", citing a lack of visibility on the top line. Miners also added pressure to the index, with names such as Antofagasta, Anglo American and BHP Billiton declining between 0.8 percent to 1.7 percent as the price of copper eased.
