Traders said the Reserve Bank of India sold dollars in the FX market to support the rupee.

MOODY'S affirmed Australia's issuer rating at Aaa and maintained a stable outlook.

South Korean stocks hit a one-month intraday high Tuesday but closed down over 1%, ending a five-day winning streak as government bond yields surged. The most liquid 3-year Korean government bond yield rose 8.5bps to 3.854%; the 10-year yield climbed 9.5bps to 4.395%. Semiconductor names outperformed early after the Philadelphia semiconductor index rose 1.6% overnight, but gains narrowed: Samsung Electronics reversed an intraday high of +4.9% to close down 2.19%, while SK Hynix closed up 1.03% after an intraday high of +8.9%. Analyst Seo Sang-young said early foreign inflows became unstable as rising yields destabilized fund flows and market sentiment.