Asia-Pacific markets mixed as recession fears weigh, China holds medium-term rates

The management agency of boy band BTS announced its members will be enlisting in South Korea's military.

"BIGHIT Music has focused to the milestone moment when it would be possible to respect the needs of the country and for these healthy young men to serve with their countrymen, and that's now," they said in a statement.

The announcement came after the market close on Monday, but shares of Hybe — which owns the band's agency Big Hit Entertainment — fell more than 2.5% during Korea's trading session while its peers were mixed.

Shares of YG Entertainment closed up 0.78% and JYP Entertainment also gained 0.7%, while SM Entertainment fell 0.72%.

— Jihye Lee

Chinese President Xi Jinping's latest speech during the Communist Party of China's National Congress shows the nation could see more state-led developers in its real estate sector, according to economist Alicia Garcia-Herrero of Natixis.

She said China’s real estate sector will be highly regulated and that private developers facing trouble could be “taken over.”

"It's going to be very much monitored so that housing affordability improves in China while not having defaults. This means more state-led developers," she said on CNBC's "Street Signs Asia."

—Jihye Lee

Taiwan's Taiex fell as much as 2.39% in early trade after Chinese President Xi Jinping said China reserves the right to take "all measures necessary" against "interference by outside forces" on the issue of Taiwan.

Shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company fell more than 3%, dragging down the broader index.

Xi's latest comments also reflected a potential prolonging of the nation's Covid-zero policy, according to UBS. Chief China Economist Wang Tao said he does not expect imminent changes in the current policy, and that there's a risk the current policy may stay unchanged for longer.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Tech index fell 3% before gaining some of the losses, with Tencent and Meituan trading nearly 3% lower in the morning session.

— Jihye Lee

Non-oil exports (NODX) in Singapore grew 3.1% in September from a year ago, while exports to China and Hong Kong fell, according to official data, missing estimates of 7.1% predicted by analysts in a Reuters poll.

The data for September follows a growth of 11.4% marked in August.

Electronics exports decreased from a high base in 2021, while non-electronics grew, the media release said.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, NODX fell 4% in September from August.

— Abigail Ng

Sterling rose on Monday morning in Asia following more policy reversals by the U.K. government late last week. The pound was last 0.56% higher at $1.1233.

Prime Minister Liz Truss canceled another tax-cutting plan, fired her Finance Minister Kwasi Kwarteng and named Jeremy Hunt as successor.

Over the weekend, Hunt told BBC that he will show the markets that the U.K. "can properly account for every penny of our tax and spending plans."

— Abigail Ng

Despite the volatility in markets, asset managers say it's important to remain invested if you're nearing retirement.

But how should one allocate funds, bearing in mind unsettled markets, a shorter investing horizon and the need for retirees to have some liquidity?

CNBC Pro asks the experts for their views.

Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Weizhen Tan

Japan's yen strengthened slightly in Asia's morning trade, but was still at 32-year lows against the dollar — last changing hands at 148.60 per dollar.

Goldman Sachs expects the dollar-yen to reach 150 in three months, analysts wrote in a note Saturday.

Referring to the Bank of Japan's yield curve control policy(YCC), analysts said in the note, "We continue to believe that without a change in YCC … USD/JPY should continue to grind higher as US yields rise."

Meanwhile, Australia's dollar recovered ground against the U.S. dollar after sharp losses last week.

But Commonwealth Bank of Australia expects the currency to weaken for the rest of the year given weakness in the global economy, analysts said in a note.

— Abigail Ng

Stocks worldwide have taken a beating this year, and major indexes remain deep in negative territory.

As investors weigh whether to sell or stay invested, CNBC Pro screened almost 1,500 large and mid-cap global stocks and found a number of major companies with sell or underweight ratings.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Ganesh Rao

The People's Bank of China rolled over its medium-term lending facility (MLF) loans and kept its interest rate unchanged at 2.75%, according to a statement on its website.

The central bank announced it would keep the one-year rate unchanged for a second month and injected 500 billion yuan ($70 billion) through the MLF.

A Reuters poll expected no change to the MLF rate and a partial rollover of loans from the central bank.

—Jihye Lee

Shares of South Korea's top messaging app plunged after a major data center outage over the weekend disrupted service for more than 53 million users worldwide.

Kakao plunged more than 9% at the open, while internet giant Naver shed 2% in the morning session before paring losses. The data center's operator, SK Inc, also fell more than 4% at the open.

Kakao's affiliates Kakao Pay, Kakao Bank and Kakao Games all shed more than 7% in Asia's morning session.

—Jihye Lee

Morgan Stanley's U.S. equity team, led by Michelle Weaver and Mike Wilson, says there's a key risk to earnings on the horizon.

The investment bank named several stocks it believes will be most impacted in the next 3-6 months, and which could see downside to their share prices in the same period.

Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Zavier Ong