South Korea GDP Data Due On Thursday

The Hong Kong stock market has moved higher in two of three trading days since the end of the two-day slide in which it had dropped more than 220 points or 0.8 percent. The Hang Seng Index now rests just beneath the 26,650-point plateau and it's expected to open to the upside again on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly positive on optimism that the end of the U.S. government shutdown in near. The European and U.S. markets were sharply higher and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The China stock market bounced higher again on Monday, one session after halting the two-day winning streak in which it had advanced more than 45 points or 1.1 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just beneath the 4,020-point plateau The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly positive on optimism that the end of the U.S. government shutdown in near. The European and U.S. markets were sharply higher and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead. The SCI finished modestly higher on Monday following gains from the financial shares, property stocks and resource companies. For the day, the index gained 21.04 points or 0.53 percent to finish at 4,018.60 after trading between 3,990.84 and 4,018.70. The Shenzhen Composite Index added 10.15 points or 0.40 percent to end at 2,529.44. Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China advanced 0.87 percent, while Bank of China rose 0.35 percent, Agricultural Bank of China rallied 2.12 percent, China Merchants Bank added 0.49 percent, Bank of Communications collected 0.82 percent, China Life Insurance jumped 1.95 percent, Jiangxi Copper improved 0.95 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) soared 3.26 percent, Yankuang Energy vaulted 1.88 percent, PetroChina strengthened 1.65 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) fell 0.27 percent, Huaneng Power perked 0.24 percent, China Shenhua Energy gained 0.94 percent, Gemdale spiked 2.33 percent, Poly Developments increased 1.25 percent and China Vanke climbed 1.29 percent.

The Taiwan stock market has moved higher in two of three trading days since the end of the two-day losing streak in which it had given up more than 640 points or 2.3 percent. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just beneath the 27,870-point plateau and it's likely to extend its gains on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly positive on optimism that the end of the U.S. government shutdown in near. The European and U.S. markets were sharply higher and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

Overall bank lending in Japan was up 4.1 percent on year in October, the Bank of Japan said on Tuesday - coming in at 650.798 trillion yen.

Japan posted a seasonally adjusted current account surplus of 4.483 trillion yen in September, the Ministry of Finance said on Tuesday - up 191.6 percent on year.

The Singapore stock market on Monday snapped the two-day winning streak in which it had climbed more than 75 points or 1.7 percent. The Straits Times Index now sits just beneath the 4,490-point plateau although it's expected to bounce higher again on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly positive on optimism that the end of the U.S. government shutdown in near. The European and U.S. markets were sharply higher and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead. The STI finished slightly lower following mixed performances from the financial shares, property stocks and industrial issues. For the day, the index slipped 4.11 points or 0.09 percent to finish at 4,488.13 after trading between 4,457.14 and 4,490.55. Among the actives, CapitaLand Ascendas REIT slipped 0.35 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust added 0.43 percent, DBS Group stumbled 1.29 percent, DFI Retail Group and Yangzijiang Shipbuilding both gained 0.30 percent, Genting Singapore surged 3.36 percent, Hongkong Land shed 0.50 percent, Keppel DC REIT fell 0.42 percent, Keppel Ltd lost 0.49 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust spiked 0.99 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation soared 2.31 percent, SATS rallied 0.86 percent, Seatrium Limited jumped 0.93 percent, SembCorp Industries rose 0.16 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering plunged 1.33 percent, SingTel slumped 0.65 percent, United Overseas Bank skidded 0.53 percent, Wilmar International advanced 0.61 percent, Yangzijiang Financial plummeted 51.42 percent and CapitaLand Investment, City Developments, Comfort DelGro, Thai Beverage, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust, Mapletree Logistics Trust, UOL Group and Frasers Centrepoint Trust were unchanged.

The Malaysia stock market has moved higher in back-to-back sessions, collecting almost 10 points or 0.7 percent in that span. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just beneath the 1,630-point plateau and it's expected to see additional support on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly positive on optimism that the end of the U.S. government shutdown in near. The European and U.S. markets were sharply higher and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead. The KLCI finished modestly higher on Monday following gains from the financial shares and telecoms and mixed performances from the plantations and industrials. For the day, the index added 8.25 points or 0.51 percent to finish at 1,627.38 after trading between 1,620.49 and 1,633.52. Among the actives, 99 Speed Mart Retail and CIMB Group both gained 0.66 percent, while AMMB Holdings increased 0.70 percent, Axiata surged 3.85 percent, Celcomdigi shed 0.27 percent, Gamuda advanced 0.79 percent, IHH Healthcare slumped 0.72 percent, IOI Corporation lost 0.25 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong perked 0.19 percent, Maxis soared 3.04 percent, Maybank collected 0.30 percent, MISC spiked 2.88 percent, MRDIY declined 1.23 percent, Nestle Malaysia sank 0.36 percent, Petronas Chemicals accelerated 2.82 percent, Petronas Dagangan rallied 1.69 percent, PPB Group added 0.69 percent, Press Metal strengthened 1.11 percent, QL Resources fell 0.24 percent, RHB Bank jumped 1.48 percent, SD Guthrie improved 0.74 percent, Sunway stumbled 1.65 percent, Telekom Malaysia rose 0.55 percent, Tenaga Nasional climbed 0.91 percent, YTL Corporation plunged 2.73 percent, YTL Power retreated 1.28 percent and Petronas Gas, Public Bank and Sime Darby were unchanged.

The Japan stock market has moved higher in two of three trading days since the end of the two-day slide in which it had plunged nearly 2,200 points or 4.2 percent. The Nikkei 225 now rests just above the 50,900-point plateau and it may add to its winnings on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly positive on optimism that the end of the U.S. government shutdown in near. The European and U.S. markets were sharply higher and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead. The Nikkei finished sharply higher on Monday following gains from the financial shares and technology stocks, while the automobile producers were mixed. For the day, the index jumped 635.39 points or 1.26 percent to finish at 50,911.76 after trading between 50,392.44 and 50,969.50. Among the actives, Nissan Motor accelerated 2.11 percent, while Mazda Motor stumbled 2.06 percent, Toyota Motor rose 0.42 percent, Honda Motor plunged 4.67 percent, Softbank Group spiked 2.56 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial and Mizuho Financial both collected 0.67 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial added 0.65 percent, Mitsubishi Electric gathered 0.33 percent, Sony Group improved 0.59 percent, Panasonic Holdings perked 0.15 percent and Hitachi rallied 2.15 percent. The lead from Wall Street is solid as the major averages opened higher on Monday and largely spent most of the sessions firmly in positive territory.