Minor declines in Asian stock markets

Since the start of the war involving Iran, stock markets have seen sharp fluctuations. The Nikkei 225 is down a total of just over 12 percent since the beginning of March.

In early trading on Tuesday, Japan's main index was down 0.1 percent. The broader Topix was up 0.1 percent.

The Hong Kong-based Hang Seng was down 0.2 percent while Shenzhen was down 0.8 percent.

South Korea's Kospi was down 2.0 percent at lunchtime.