Asian shares cautiously nudged into positive territory on Tuesday after downbeat economic data pressured Wall Street ahead of a key U.S. jobs report that could provide important clues to the timing of the Federal Reserve’s interest rate increase. Crude oil prices firmed after plunging overnight, with U.S. crude (CLc1) adding about 0.7 percent to $45.49 a barrel. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was slightly higher, while Japan’s Nikkei stock index (.N225) slipped 0.2 percent, after breaking a three-day winning streak in the previous session.