Asian stocks mostly lower, tracking Wall Street losses

Tokyo: Shares mostly fell in Asia on Tuesday, tracking losses on Wall Street apart from the Nasdaq composite index's fresh record high.

Keeping Score: Japan's Nikkei 225 index was nearly unchanged at 19,448.55 and the Kospi in South Korea slipped 0.2 percent to 2,045.75. Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.4 percent to 11,645.96. The Shanghai Composite index shed 0.3 percent to 3,162.24 and Australia's S&P ASX 200 plunged 0.9 percent to 5,758.10. Markets in Southeast Asia were mostly lower.

China Economy: China's main planning agency said the economy is estimated to have grown 6.7 percent in 2016, within the target range of 6.5 percent to 7 percent. Adding to the upbeat data, the government reported that China's factory price index hit a five-year high in December at 5.5 percent over a year before. Consumer prices rose 2.1 percent in December and 2 percent in 2016, the data released Tuesday showed.

Wall Street: The Dow Jones industrial average fell 76.42 points, or 0.4 percent, to 19,887.38. The Standard & Poor's 500 index slid 8.08 points, or 0.4 percent, to 2,268.90. The Nasdaq rose 10.76 points, or 0.2 percent, to 5,531.82. Future gains will likely depend on corporate earnings, which are due out soon.

Energy: US. benchmark crude oil steadied, gaining 12 cents to $52.08 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Stock Exchange. It fell $2.03, or 3.8 percent, to close at $51.96 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, which is used to price oil sold internationally, slid $2.16, or 3.8 percent, to close at $54.94 a barrel in London.

Currencies: The pound fell to $1.2163 from $1.2274, its lowest level since October, amid indications the British government is inclined to opt for a full break away from the European Union's single market. It was trading at $1.2171 at midday Tuesday Tokyo time. The dollar fell to 115.65 yen from 116.01 yen in late trading Friday. The euro rose to $1.0607 from $1.0532.