"It's a consequence of the strong gains and a little bit of caution before Wednesday's EU summit. Sure there's optimism on Europe, but this will be their 14th crisis meeting in 21 months," Macquarie Private Wealth investment adviser James Rosenberg said in Australia.
European officials appeared to make progress in their efforts to fix the continent's debt problems ahead of the European leaders' summit on Wednesday. European leaders have agreed on a plan to boost the firepower of the euro-zone's bailout fund to more than €1 trillion ($1.39 trillion), an adviser to German Chancellor Angela Merkel told senior lawmakers, according to meeting participants.
"With high expectation being priced in, any under-delivery will disappoint the market and spark a sell-off," said Credit Agricole strategist Mitul Kotecha.
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.3%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was off 0.3%, South Korea's Kospi Composite climbed 0.2%, and New Zealand's NZX-50 added 0.4% as markets there resumed trading after Monday's holiday.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were off 15 points in screen trade.
Resources stocks were holding up well in Australia after copper rose 6.9% on Monday, with BHP Billiton up 1.7% and Rio Tinto adding 1.8%.
ResMed tumbled 13% after the medical equipment maker's first quarter results undershot expectations.
In Tokyo, exporters were mixed amid a strong yen; Toyota Motor was off 0.5% and Canon was down 0.3%, while Sony advanced 2.2%. Komatsu rose 3.9% and Hitachi Construction Machinery advanced 3.2% after solid earnings from industry bellwether Caterpillar.
South Korea's Samsung Electronics was down 0.1%, and Hyundai Motor rose 0.5% ahead of their third quarter earnings reports due later this week.
In currency markets, the euro traded in a narrow range against the U.S. dollar as investors remained cautiously optimistic that Wednesday's summit will deliver a concrete plan to contain the euro-zone debt crisis.
"Expectations for more decisive action emerging from the next summit on Wednesday appear to be growing," Barclays Capital said in a note to clients. However, "we remain cautious on the euro and risky assets in the run-up to the summit and beyond," it added.
The single currency was at $1.3908, from $1.3929 late on Monday in New York, and at ¥105.91 against the yen, from ¥106.02. The dollar was fetching ¥76.16, from ¥76.09.
Spot gold was at $1,651.50 per troy ounce, down $1.80 from its New York settlement on Monday. December Nymex crude oil futures were up 36 cents at $91.63 per barrel on Globex.
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