Major stock market indexes in Asia traded lower on Tuesday as market participants digest economic data released in the region and await the monetary policy decision from the United States Federal Reserve, set to be revealed later in the week.

On the data front, China's general manufacturing PMI data for December landed in the expansionary territory as Japan's industrial output for the month dropped. Japan's unemployment rate remained unmoved and in line with expectations, while retail sales surprised investors, increasing both on a monthly and a yearly basis.

On the Chinese mainland, the Shanghai Composite lost 0.27% at 4:16 am CET, with the Shenzhen Composite decreasing by 0.51% a minute later. Hong Kong's Hang Seng went down by 0.85% at 4:18 am CET and Japan's Nikkei 225 was down by 0.01% at 3:35 am CET. At 4:19 am CET, South Korea's Kospi Composite fell by 0.88%, as the dollar traded 0.18% lower against the yen, going for 130.2385. The Australian S&P/ASX 200 stood flat at 4:20 am CET.