BANGKOK — Shares were mostly lower Tuesday in Asia and U.S. futures were flat after stocks slipped on Wall Street.
Crude oil prices were little changed and gold and silver resumed climbing.
With just two trading days left before the year ends, most big investors have closed out their positions and volume has been thin. Most global markets will be closed Thursday, New Year's day, and some will remain closed on Friday.
Tokyo's Nikkei edged less than 0.1% lower to 50,519.12.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index climbed 0.5% to 25,751.64, while the Shanghai Composite index lost 0.1% to 3,961.21.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 edged 0.1% lower to 8,719.10.
South Korea's Kospi picked up less than 2 points, to 4,221.64, while Taiwan's Taiex lost 0.2%.
On Monday, stocks slipped in quiet trading on Wall Street.