Asian markets hunkered down on Tuesday ahead of the first U.S. presidential debate later in the global day, with investors also remaining cautious over the global economy's prospects as coronavirus deaths surpassed the 1-million mark worldwide, Reuters reported. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.31% to 554.56. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index however was down 0.24%, wiping out morning gains. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index also fell back to trade flat after earlier touching its highest level in three weeks. New Zealand's S&P/NZX 50 index lost 0.51%. Safe-haven spot gold was flat at around $1881 an ounce. U.S. gold futures gained 0.21% to $1,876.7 an ounce. U.S. Brent crude slipped 16 cents to $42.27 a barrel while U.S. light crude was down 21 cents at $40.39 on demand worries. The U.S. dollar dropped from a two-month high against a basket of currencies Monday, with the dollar index falling 0.3%, its biggest daily percentage drop in roughly three weeks.