Australasia’s share markets were mixed and the dollar held steady on Tuesday, with investors awaiting U.S inflation data for more clues on when the Federal Reserve will taper stimulus.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.13 per cent.

Australia’s S&P/ASX200 fell 0.31 per cent. But Tokyo’s Nikkei traded 0.72 per cent higher and The South Korea Kospi has ticked higher gathering 0.4 percent along the way.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild upside, supported mainly by crude oil prices.

The U.S. economists expect annual inflation to ease slightly to 4.2% from 4.3% in July. The data comes ahead of a key meeting by the Federal Reserve on Sept 21-22.

We estimate the pace of price increases declined in August as re‑opening frictions slowly fade, Commonwealth Bank head of international economics Joseph Capurso said in a note to clients. There will be lots of analysis of individual price moves that reflect the re‑opening of the economy and supply bottlenecks, he added.

Gold was little changed in early Asia trade, after it managed to eke out a small gain overnight.

Front-month WTI crude oil futures were 0.2 per cent higher at $70.58 a barrel, while Brent crude gained 0.1 per cent to $73.55/a barrel.