SYDNEY, Australia - The Australian All Ordinaries tumbled on Tuesday after the Reserve Bank of Australia left official interest rates unchanged at 0.75%.

The stock market index fell 146.90 points or 2.2% to 6,818.40, the biggest one-day fall in four months.

The selling reduced the total capitalisation of the index by $47 billion.

"The lower cash rate has put downward pressure on the exchange rate, which is supporting activity across a range of industries," Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Philip Lowe said Tuesday in explaining why the bank left interest rates on hold.

"It has also boosted asset prices, which in time should lead to increased spending, including on residential construction. Lower mortgage rates are also boosting aggregate household disposable income, which, in time, will boost household spending."

The Nikkei 225 in Japan fell 165.91 points or 0.71% to 23,313.59.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng lost 76.60 points or 0.29% to 26,368.12.

China's Shanghai Composite dropped 1.26 points or 0.04% to 2,874.55.

The U.S. dollar remained week, creeping up by a few basis point only on a range of currencies in Asia on Tuesday.

The euro was quoted at 1.1072 near the Sydney close. The pound was at 1.2940. The Japanese yen eased a touch to 109.16. The Swiss franc did likewise, dipping to 0.9924.

The Canadian dollar weakened to 1.33.01. The Australian dollar gained to 0.6844. The New Zealand dollar wa sharply higher at 0.6508.

Overnight on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was behind 267.35 points, or 0.95%, at 27,784.06.

The Standard and Poor's 500 fell 27 points, or 0.86%, to 3,113.98.

The Nasdaq Composite shed 97.48 points, or 1.12%, to 8,567.99.