Asian stock markets trade mixed following poor Wall Street performance overnight

Asian stock market indices were trading mixed on Tuesday (7 March) with the Shanghai Composite up 0.04% at 3,235.24 as of 6am GMT following poor Wall Street performance overnight.

On Monday, most US indices closed lower amid concerns over President Donald Trump's ability to focus on economic policies, according to Reuters. Investors were also said to be concerned over the increased probability that the US Federal Reserve would raise interest rates this month, which in turn would increase borrowing costs for companies.

FedWatch, a tool which helps gauge market reactions showed that the probability of a Fed rate increase this month stood at 86.4% as of Tuesday, following the US reporting better than expected factory orders and durable goods orders.

"Better-than-expected numbers led the market to believe that the Fed will have more reason to raise the interest rate in the FOMC meeting next week," Margaret Yang, market analyst at CMC Markets, was quoted as saying by CNBC.

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) left the cash rate unchanged at 1.50%. RBA Governor Philip Lowe in a statement said: "The improvement in the global economy has contributed to higher commodity prices, which are providing a significant boost to Australia's national income." This had a positive impact on equities in the region.

Indices in the region were trading as follows at 6.11am GMT:

On 6 March the FTSE 100 closed 0.33% lower at 7,350.12 while the S&P 500 index closed 0.33% lower at 2,375.31.

Among commodities, oil prices declined after the International Energy Agency (IEA) said that global supply of this commodity could struggle to meet demand beyond 2020, leading to price volatility. As of 1.03am EST, WTI crude oil was down 0.15% at $53.12 (£43.40) a barrel, while Brent crude was trading 0.23% lower at $55.88 a barrel.