A vegetables stall in the Haizhu area of Guangzhou, China, in May 2023.
This is CNBC's live blog covering Asia-Pacific markets.
China's stocks reversed course to rise Monday after data showing persistent deflationary pressures from weak domestic demand pushed them lower earlier in the session.
Japan's stocks jumped on growing bets that its central bank might not hike interest rates next week.
November inflation numbers from China showed a faster-than-expected decline in consumer prices.
The consumer price index fell 0.5% year-on-year, more than the 0.1% drop expected by economists polled by Reuters and the fastest slide since November 2020.
The producer price index fell 3% year-on-year, compared with October's 2.6% drop and expectations of a 2.8% decline. It also marked the 14th straight month of PPI decline and the quickest since August.
China's CSI 300 index ended 0.59% higher at 3,419.45 after falling more than 1% earlier in the day, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index shed 1% in the final hour of trading.
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Japan's Nikkei 225 ended 1.5% higher at 32,791.80, while the broad based Topix added 1.47% to close at 2,358.55.
Investors were hopeful that the Bank of Japan may not raise interest rates{
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Japan stocks rise amid hopes the central bank may not hike rates at next meeting
Japan's main stock gauges rose in early Asia trading hours Monday, amid growing hopes the country's central bank may not raise interest rates at its monetary policy meeting next week.
The Nikkei 225 rose 1.68% , while the Topix added 1.28% in the first hour of trading.
"We do not expect the BoJ to tighten policy this month because Japan's economy‑wide wages growth remains subdued at just 1.5%/yr in October," analysts at CBA wrote in a client note.
The Japanese yen weakened after rallying last week, but traded around 145 to a dollar.
Investors will also be keenly watching the U.S. Federal Reserve's monetary policy decision this week and its impact on the dollar/yen pair.
— Shreyashi Sanyal
Focus for this week will be on the U.S. Federal Reserve's monetary policy decision, where it is largely expected to hold its policy rate steady at the range of 5.25% and 5.5%.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 started Monday up 0.06% at 7,199.00, ending at a three-month high.
South Korea's Kospi closed 0.3% higher at 2,525.36, was last up 0.06% and the small cap Kosdaq was up 0.59% at 835.25.
On Friday, all three major U.S. indexes rose, with the S&P 500 climbing to hit a new high for the year after the November jobs report and University of Michigan consumer survey data signaled a resilient economy and cooling inflation, fueling hopes for a so-called soft-landing scenario.
The S&P 500 added 0.41%, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.45%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained or 0.36%.
— CNBC's Samantha Subin and Tanaya Macheel contributed to this report
Nagacorp shares plunge to 11-year low as founder passes away
Shares of Cambodian hotel, gaming and leisure operator Nagacorp plunged to an 11-year low after the company announced the death of founder and senior chief executive officer Chen Lip Keong.
The company's shares tumbled 12.88% to 2.84 Hong Kong dollars on Monday, hitting their lowest level since June 5, 2012.
In a filing on the Hong Kong Exchange, Nagacorp explained that Chen died on Dec. 8, due to illness.
The company said that Chen Yiy Fon, who is the late Chen's son, will take over as the new CEO of the company, and that the elder Chen's death is not expected to have a material impact on the finances of the company.
— Lim Hui Jie
Japan stocks rise amid hopes the central bank may not hike rates at next meeting
Japan's main stock gauges rose in early Asia trading hours Monday, amid growing hopes the country's central bank may not raise interest rates at its monetary policy meeting next week.
The Nikkei 225 rose 1.68% , while the Topix added 1.28% in the first hour of trading.
"We do not expect the BoJ to tighten policy this month because Japan's economy‑wide wages growth remains subdued at just 1.5%/yr in October," analysts at CBA wrote in a client note.
The Japanese yen weakened after rallying last week, but traded around 145 to a dollar.
Investors will also be keenly watching the U.S. Federal Reserve's monetary policy decision this week and its impact on the dollar/yen pair.
— Shreyashi Sanyal
China's November consumer prices slide at fastest pace in three years
China's consumer prices for November declined at their fastest pace in three years, while producer prices remained in negative territory, according to data released over the weekend.
CPI in November dropped 0.5% year-on-year to its lowest level since November 2020 and below the 0.2% fall seen in October.
A Reuters poll of economists was expecting a 0.1% decline in China's CPI. The reading highlighted weak domestic demand in China.
November PPI fell 3.0% year-on-year, more than the 2.6% drop in October and remained in deflationary territory for the 13th straight month. A Reuters poll had estimated it to drop 2.8% in November.
"The decline was mainly driven by falling food prices. Hog production rose even at a time when demand was weaker than usual," analysts at Commerzbank said in a client note.
State-run news outlet Xinhua reported on Friday that the top decision-making body of the ruling Communist Party said the country's fiscal policy "must be moderately strengthened" to stimulate economic recovery.
— Shreyashi Sanyal
CNBC Pro: This self-driving car technology stock could pop by more than 400%, say three analysts
Shares of a driverless car technology maker could surge over 400% in the next 12 months, according to analysts at three investment banks.
The tech company already has five major partnerships in the pipeline, including luxury carmaker BMW, Volkswagen, and an unnamed Asian auto giant, representing nearly $7 billion in potential revenue over the next decade.
CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.
— Ganesh Rao
CNBC Pro: Looking for alternatives to Nvidia? Futurum CEO names 3 he's bullish on for 2024
Nvidia made a splash in 2023, given the investor excitement around artificial intelligence.
Its stock has already surged more than 200% higher this year.
But it's not the only one worthy of mention — other companies also look set to benefit from the AI supply chain.
Daniel Newman, CEO of Futurum Research, said he would "skip past Nvidia because … a lot of people know that one." Instead, he named other top choices he's optimistic about for the next year.
CNBC Pro subscribers can read about them here.
— Weizhen Tan
U.S. crude oil books seven weeks of losses for first time in five years
U.S crude oil rallied on Friday, but still booked its seventh straight week of losses as record production and demand worries weigh on prices.
The West Texas Intermediate contract for January rose $1.89, or 2.73%, to settle at $71.23 a barrel. The Brent crude contract for February gained $1.79, or 2.42%, to settle at $75.84 a barrel.
U.S. crude and the global benchmark lost about 4% for the week despite Friday's rebound. The last time WTI booked a seven-week losing streak was five years ago.
Traders have become increasingly bearish in recent weeks as record production in the U.S. collides with weakening demand in China.
Several OPEC members and allies like Russia have promised production cuts of 2.2 million bpd for the first quarter of 2024 in an effort to lift prices.
But traders are skeptical that they will actually deliver given recent divisions within the group.
— Spencer Kimball
Stocks finish higher, S&P 500 hits highest level of the year
Stocks finished higher Friday, with the S&P 500 notching its highest level of 2023.
The S&P 500 added 0.41% to settle at 4,604.37, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.45% to finish at 14,403.97. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 130.49 points, or 0.36%, to end at 36,247.87.
— Samantha Subin
U.S. economy adds 199,000 jobs, unemployment rate falls
The U.S. economy added 199,000 in November. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected a print of 190,000.
While the headline number was about in line with expectations, the U.S. unemployment rate fell to 3.7%. Economists had forecast the jobless rate to stay unchanged at 3.9%.
— Fred Imbert
Consumer sentiment data comes in ahead of expectations
A closely watched survey from the University of Michigan showed consumer sentiment rise to 69.4 and the best level since July, and top a Dow Jones estimate of 62.4.
Inflation expectations also plunged, with the one-year outlook for the inflation rate dropping to 3.1%. That's down from 4.5% in November. The five-year outlook moved to 2.8% from 3.2%.
— Jeff Cox, Samantha Subin
