British News Agency

Markets in mainland China and South Korea are closed on Monday for the Mid-Autumn festival. Japan markets are closed for the Respect for the Aged Day.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 0.76 percent on opening after China released a slew of worrying economic data over the weekend. August factory output, retail sales, and investment numbers missed expectations. The urban jobless rate rose to a six-month high, while year-on-year home prices fell at their fastest pace in nine years.

Investors also await the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday, where the central bankers are expected to make their first interest rate cut since 2020

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.44 percent on open. The Taiwan Weighted Index edged up slightly.

Typhoon Bebinca has cancelled hundreds of flights in China, and Shanghai is expected to be hit by the strongest storm since 1949. Asian investors also await a swath of the region's key data and central bank decisions.

After a rough start to a historically weak September, the three major U.S. indexes ended last week’s trading session in the green, with the S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite closing their best week of 2024.

The broad-based S&P 500 index advanced 0.54 percent to close at 5,626.02, the Nasdaq Composite added 0.65 percent to 17,683.98, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 0.72 percent to close at 41,393.78.