Asian markets stumble as investors ponder fallout of Mideast tension

Overnight, Wall Street indexes slipped between 0.1% and 0.2%, with Apple leading losses on the Dow

Asian stocks retreated on Tuesday after Wall Street's stumble overnight, while oil inched up from the previous day losses as lower Libyan oil production assuaged concerns that the severing of ties with Qatar by other Arab states could impede a deal to cut crude output.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.2 percent in early trade, pulling back from a two-year high hit on Monday.

Japan's Nikkei dropped 0.4 percent.

South Korean markets were closed for a holiday.

Australian shares tumbled 0.9 percent, while the Australian dollar slipped 0.1 percent to $0.7481, but retained most of Monday's 0.6 percent gain ahead