Japan's tech-heavy Nikkei edged higher though, driven by chip shares after the Nasdaq hit a record high overnight ahead of Nvidia earnings due on Wednesday.

Gold inched back towards Monday's all-time peak, while crude oil prices eased on worries of US interest rates staying high for longer as Fed officials maintained a cautious view on a recent easing of inflation.

Cryptocurrencies ether and bitcoin climbed to new six-week highs amid speculation that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) may approve a spot ether exchange-traded fund (ETF).

Markets currently factor in about 41 basis points of Fed rate reductions this year, with a quarter-point cut fully priced in for November.

Traders rushed to rebuild easing bets after data earlier this month showed consumer price pressures mitigated in April, following a string of three months of upside surprises at the start of the year.

Even so, Fed officials are reluctant to declare inflation is coming under control, with Vice Chair Philip Jefferson saying on Monday that it was too early to tell if the slowdown is "long lasting," and Vice Chair Michael Barr saying restrictive policy needs more time.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slipped 0.6 percent, weighed down by the Hang Seng's more than 1 percent pullback from Monday's multi-month peak.

Japan's Nikkei was a rare bright spot, rising 0.2 percent, adding to the previous day's 0.73 percent rally.

Nasdaq futures inched 0.1 percent lower after the cash index climbed 0.65 percent overnight to close at an all-time high. S&P 500 futures ESCv1 were flat after Monday's 0.1 percent gain.

"Market sentiment remains relatively robust, with implied volatility low, supported by greater confidence in US rate cuts this year," Kyle Rodda, senior markets analyst at Capital.com, wrote in a note.

At the same time, record highs for metals such as gold and copper "is being pointed to as a signal economic activity is improving globally, and that may be a factor keeping inflation sticky," Rodda said.

Gold eased 0.2 percent to about $2,420 per ounce, after pushing to the cusp of $2,450 for the first time overnight.

The dollar firmed slightly against major peers on Tuesday, with the dollar index up 0.1 percent to 104.69 after a similar rise on Monday.

The 10-year Treasury yield was little changed at 4.4453 percent, after ticking up 1.7 basis points on Monday.

Brent crude futures declined 12 cents, or 0.1 percent, to $83.34 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) eased 8 cents, or 0.1 percent, to $79.72 a barrel.

Meanwhile, the standout performers of Monday continued their rise, as traders snapped up cryptocurrencies following a report that the SEC had abruptly asked exchanges that want to trade ether ETFs to update regulatory filings, boosting bets that approval could come this week.

Bitcoin climbed as high as $71,957 and ether jumped to $3,720.80, both hitting levels not seen since April 9.

"Speculation around the ether ETF has certainly played its part in the move, throwing fuel on the crypto bull market bonfire that had reignited after last week's cooler US CPI data," said IG analyst Tony Sycamore.

Sycamore expects bitcoin to retest the all-time high at $73,803.25 in coming days before making a push for $80,000.