Switzerland's SMI was expected to open lower on Tuesday following Monday's 0.8 percent close, with IG Bank projecting a premarket slide of 0.2 percent, according to a cash.ch tickerticker updated at 06:25.
US markets were closed for the Labor Day holiday, leaving Asian exchanges without guidance from Wall Street. Japan's Nikkei 225 remained essentially flat at 66,445.13 points, while the broader Topix dipped 0.6 percent to 4,102.05.
Chinese equities showed limited movement: Shanghai rose 0.4 percent to 3,947.27, and the CSI 300 index advanced 0.2 percent to 4,582.81.
South Korea's Kospi outperformed, gaining 1.9 percent to 7,129.34 — its highest level in three weeks — buoyed by semiconductor stocks. Samsung Electronics shares rose 2.59 percent and rival SK Hynix climbed 3.98 percent.
The broader regional mood was dampened by growing expectations of a faster pace of Japanese monetary tightening. Maki Sawada, equities strategist at Nomura Securities, said she anticipated muted trading ahead of the Bank of Japan's policy meeting next week, adding that a stronger yen weighed on sentiment. Official data showed Japanese real wages rose 2.4 percent in July, the strongest gain since May 2021, while second-quarter GDP grew faster than initially estimated, supported by higher corporate investment.
Markets now view a BOJ rate hike to 1.25 percent next week as nearly certain. Analysts at Capital Economics noted that accelerating wage growth makes a more aggressive tightening trajectory increasingly likely.
In FX, the yen reached its strongest level since mid-February, with the dollar sliding 0.8 percent to 153.12 yen. The dollar rose marginally to 6.7104 yuan against the Chinese currency and moved slightly higher to 0.8091 Swiss francs. The euro held near 1.1625 dollars and 0.9405 francs.
On commodities, Brent crude edged virtually unchanged at $97.10 a barrel, while WTI rose 1.1 percent to $92.51. Westpac analysts attributed the initial low volume to the US holiday but said weekend military clashes between the US and Iran continued to support oil prices and temper overall risk appetite.
Gold advanced 0.8 percent to $4,441 an ounce.
