Asia markets are set for mixed open ahead of Australia central bank decision

Asia-Pacific markets were set for a mixed open ahead of the interest rate decision from the Reserve Bank of Australia later Tuesday.

Twenty-nine economists polled by Reuters unanimously expect the RBA to hold rates at 4.35%.

In Japan, household spending dipped more than expected in December, falling 2.5% year on year compared with the 2.1% expected by economists polled by Reuters.

The average monthly income per household for December stood at 1,099,805 yen, falling 4.4% in nominal terms and down 7.2% in real terms from the previous year.

The Bank of Japan has said sustainable wage increases are one of the prerequisites for unwinding its ultra-loose monetary policy.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 extended losses from Tuesday, falling 0.44% ahead of the RBA decision.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 could go either way based off futures data, with contracts in Chicago at 36,340 and its counterpart in Osaka at 36,375 against the index’s last close of 36,354.16

Futures for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index stood at 15,650, pointing to a stronger open compared with the HSI’s close of 15,510.01.

Overnight in the U.S., all three major indexes lost ground as Treasury yields spiked higher on concerns the Federal Reserve might not cut rates as much as expected. Lackluster results from McDonald’s also dampened investor sentiment.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.71%, while the S&P 500 retreated from its all-time high, slipping 0.32%. The Nasdaq Composite edged down 0.2%

— CNBC’s Samantha Subin and Jesse Pound contributed to this report