SYDNEY, NSW, Australia - Stocks in Asia were mostly lower on Tuesday, although the major indices came off their lows.

In China, stocks advanced.

The outlook however remains poor.

"Inflation means the Fed must tighten until it breaks the economy or the market," Michael Harnett, chief investment strategist at Bank of America told Reuters news agency Tuesday. "Until it does, asset prices must reset lower."

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 closed out the day with a 152.24 points or 0.58 percent loss at 26,167.10.

The Australian All Ordinaries, after being substantially lower, recovered somewhat to close Tuesday down 72.70 points or 0.99 percent at 7,285.20,

In New Zealand, the S&P/NZX 50 declined 152.25 points or 1.34 percent to 11,229.45.

The Kospi Composite in Seoul fell 14.25 points or 0.25 percent to 2,596.56.

The Hang Seng in Hong Kong closed down 368.27 points or 1.84 percent at 19,633.69.

China's Shanghai Composite, going against the trend, rose 31.70 points or 1.06 percent, to close Tuesday at 3,035.84.

On foreign exchange markets, trading in Asia saw the commodity currencies extend losses, while the major clawed back a few points. The euro surprisingly picked up steam to see out the Asian day around 1.0575. The British pound was a fraction stronger at 1.2333. The Japanese yen was soft but steady at 130.33 The Swiss franc was unwanted at 0.9925.

The Canadian dollar traded in a tight range around 1.3012. The Australian dollar drifted down to 0.6947. The New Zealand dollar edged down to 0.6319.

Overnight on Wall Street, the Nasdaq Composite dived 521.41 points or 4.29 percent to 11,623.25.

The Dow Jones decelerated 653.67 points or 1.99 percent to 32,245.70.

The Standard and Poor's 500 fell 132.06 points or 3.20 percent to 3,991.28.