Asian shares fell in early Tuesday trade as investors turned to safe-haven assets and U.S. futures opened lower after North Korea fired a missile.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 0.72 percent in early trade after a North Korean missile flew over the country early on Tuesday. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said in a statement that the launch was reckless and unprecedented.

Across the Korean strait, the Kospi tumbled 1.03 percent as investors processed the latest developments on the peninsula. The Korean won also fell almost 1 percent against the dollar following the launch.

Down Under, the S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.75 percent, with the financials and consumer discretionary sub-indexes leading losses.

Geopolitical tensions returned to the fore after North Korea launched a ballistic missile that flew over Japan on Tuesday. The missile headed in the direction of the Tohoku region before falling in the sea, Japan’s NHK said. The last time a projectile from the hermit state flew over Japan was 2009, according to Reuters.

Demand for traditional safe-haven assets rose following the latest provocation from North Korea, with demand for gold and the Japanese yen picking up in the aftermath of the missile launch.

Spot gold prices rose to their highest in around 10 months on safe-haven demand. The yellow metal fetched as high as $1,322.33 an ounce before paring some gains to last trade at $1,317.96.

Meanwhile, the Japanese currency strengthened to trade as high as 108.32 yen to the dollar — its strongest levels in about 4 months. The yen later gave up some of those gains to trade at 108.70 yen to the dollar at 8:08 a.m. HK/SIN.

The yen could have more scope to gain against the dollar, BK Asset Management Managing Director of FX Strategy Kathy Lien said in an early morning note. “If [President Donald] Trump responds with more than harsh words for North Korea, we could see dollar/yen drop as low as 108,” wrote Lien.

Meanwhile, Dow Jones industrial average futures opened more than 100 points lower following the North Korea missile news.

Elsewhere, energy markets continued to process the impact of Tropical Storm Harvey, a downgraded former hurricane. U.S. gasoline futures were up 1.03 percent at $1.7300 a gallon at 8:16 a.m. HK/SIN. Gasoline futures had settled up around 3 percent after refineries in the Houston area were shut down.

Also on the energy front, Brent crude futures rose 0.44 percent to trade at $52.12 a barrel and U.S. futures tacked on 0.52 percent to trade at $46.81. U.S. crude had settled more than 2 percent lower overnight on concerns that refinery closures would affect crude demand.

Stateside, oil refinery stocks rose as investors digested the aftermath of Harvey. The Dow Jones industrial average edged down 0.02 percent, or 5.27 points, to close at 21,808.4. Other major indexes recorded slight gains: The S&P 500 added 0.05 percent, or 1.19 points, to end at 2,444.24 and the Nasdaq rose 0.28 percent, or 17.37 points, to close at 6,283.02.

In currencies, the dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of currencies, was mostly flat at 92.243 at 8:12 a.m. HK/SIN. The dollar slipped below the 93 handle last week following a central banking meeting at Jackson Hole.

Investors are also expected to keep an eye on earnings releases in Australia and Hong Kong, with companies such as Shanghai Fosun Pharma and Postal Savings Bank of China expected to report.

— CNBC’s Christine Wang contributed to this report.