Asia markets to open slightly lower. Later today we're expecting speech from Gov Kuroda

Australia's SPI futures traded at 5,494, a touch lower than the ASX 200's last close at 5,515.05. Nikkei futures in Chicago traded at 16,550, while Osaka futures were at 16,520. The Japanese benchmark index finished up at 16,598.19 on Monday.

"Markets continue to trade eerily quietly in the low-volume low-volatility dog days of Northern hemisphere summer," said Angus Nicholson, a market analyst at brokerage firm IG.

Analysts pointed out that market was likely playing wait-and-see ahead of a speech from Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen on Friday at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City's Monetary Policy Symposium at Jackson Hole, Wyoming on Friday. The annual Fed symposium has sometimes been used by Fed chairs to make important policy pronouncements.

n the currency market, the dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, pulled back from levels near 94.905 on Monday afternoon Asia time to 94.519. The Japanese yen also strengthened slightly against the dollar, with the pair trading at 100.35 as of 6:42 a.m. HK/SIN on Tuesday, compared with levels near 100.76 the previous day. The rally in oil prices snapped overnight, with prices closing down more than 3 percent. The U.S. crude September front-month contract fell 3 percent to $47.05 a barrel before expiring, while the October contract fell 3.6 percent to $47.41. Global benchmark Brent futures were down 3.4 percent at $49.16.

In the U.S., the Dow Jones industrial average closed 23.15 points lower, or 0.12 percent, at 18,529.42. The S&P 500 index slipped 1.23 points, or 0.06 percent, to end at 2,182.64, while the Nasdaq gained 6.22 points, or 0.12 percent, to 5,244.60.

Read more:

• Economic calendar for the European and American trade sessions 17.05.2018
• Australia – Unemployment rate above expectations 5.6% vs 5.5%
• CAD is the only currency in G-10 with positive quarter against USD
• UK – Halifax house prices below expectations -3.1% vs -0.2%
• Economic calendar for the European and American trade sessions 07.05.2018