Asian markets retreated on Tuesday following losses on Wall Street as dealers await a meeting of the US Federal Reserve policy committee hoping for a fresh round of stimulus measures.

Attention is also on Germany, where a court is due to rule on Wednesday on the constitutional legality of Berlin taking part in a rescue fund set up to support under-pressure countries.

Tokyo fell 0.70 per cent, or 61.99 points, to 8,807.38, Sydney’s S&P/ASX 200 closed 0.18 per cent, or 8.0 points, lower at 4,325.8 and Seoul lost 0.24 per cent, or 4.70 points, to close at 1,920.00.