Asian markets traded lower across the board Tuesday, following comments from Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke in New York Monday that were interpreted as a signal that interest rate increases would last a little longer and go a little higher than the market now expects.

Bernanke's address to the Economic Club of New York is most likely his last public appearance before the FOMC rate-setting meeting on March 27-28 .

The new Fed chief said the recent inversion of the yield curve is not a signal of a coming period of economic weakness.

"Although macroeconomic forecasting is fraught with hazards, I would not interpret the currently very flat yield curve as indicating a significant economic slowdown to come," Bernanke said.

Futures market now expect the federal funds rate to peak at 5% in May.

Bernanke's remarks following the speech refrained from offering guidance into the outlook for monetary policy.

In Taipei, the Taiwan Weighted Index declined as much as 0.49%. South Korea's Kospi Index fell as much as 0.36%. In Singapore shares plunged as much as 0.5%.

Japanese markets were closed for a national holiday.

India's Sensex index advanced as much as 0.4% to breach the 11,000-point level, a record high. The benchmark index of the Bombay Stock Exchange has advanced more than 1,000 points in the last 29 days, lifted by strong foreign fund flows into the consumer goods and automotive sectors.

Australia's All Ordinaries nudged lower 0.1%. Troops began moving aid to Innisfail, on the northeast coast, after the town was hit Monday by one of Australia's most powerful cyclones in decades.

Authorities say the storm laid waste to key agricultural crops in the northeast state of Queensland, with heavy loses to both sugar cane and banana plantations. Officials estimate the crop loses could lead to banana shortages and a doubling of prices to A$6 per kilo ( $4.32 ) from A$3 per kilo in coming months.

Shares of BHP Billiton (BHP) rose as much as 0.8% on speculation resource companies may post higher earnings, possibly as high as 10% or more say analysts, given the weakening Australian dollar versus the greenback in recent months.

In Seoul trading, shares of Samsung Electronics Co. (SSNGY) fell 0.94% after the chip maker said it expected first-quarter profits in its semiconductor business to disappoint owing to falling NAND memory chip prices.

In Asian trading, the dollar gained against the yen, changing hands at 116.55 yen, up from 116.14 yen in late New York on Monday. April gold futures fell $2.6 an ounce to $553.50 , down from its open in Asia Tuesday at $555.70 .

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell as much as 0.16%. The China Enterprises Index, or H shares index, fell as much as 0.33%

Shares of PetroChina (PTR) declined as much as 2.6% after the company reported record 2005 earnings of 133.4 billion yuan ( $16.6 billion ) which came in at lower end of market expectations.

In U.S. trading Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 13 points, the S & P 500 Index fell 2.5 points and the Nasdaq Composite Index gained 5 points.

In Asian trading, April crude-oil futures fell 37 cents to $60.05 a barrel, down from the close of $60.42 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Monday. The benchmark contract ended Monday trading down $2.35, or 3.7%, as traders weighed above-average supplies against the latest violence in Nigeria . (END) Dow Jones Newswires 03-21-06 0400ET Copyright (c) 2006 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.