Hong Kong stocks close 5% higher on the first day of November after rough October

Stocks in Hong Kong and mainland China rallied Tuesday after unconfirmed reports circulated about a committee being formed for reopening discussions in China. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian told Reuters that he was unaware of the situation.

"I don't know where you got this information. I truly don't know anything about this," Zhao was quoted as saying.

Economist Hao Hong of Grow Investment Group tweeted that the rumored committee is reviewing data from multiple countries and aiming for a reopening in March next year.

–Jihye Lee

Crude oil futures gained in Asia's afternoon as the dollar faltered.

Brent crude futures were 1.23% higher at $93.95 per barrel, while U.S. crude futures gained 1.12% to $87.50 per barrel.

The dollar index — which measures the greenback against a basket of six currencies — last traded at 111.22.

A weaker U.S. dollar makes energy more affordable for buyers from other countries who hold different currencies.

— Abigail Ng, Reuters

Japan-listed shares of Toyota fell sharply after it reported a 25% drop in its second-quarter operating profit.

The company reported 562.7 billion yen ($3.79 billion) in operating profits for the quarter ending on September 30, a significant miss from an average estimate of 772.2 billion yen ($5.2 billion) from a Refinitiv poll and nearly a 25% drop from the same period last year.

Shares of Toyota dropped more than 2% shortly after the earnings release, as the wider Nikkei 225 index lost some of its earlier gains in the afternoon session.

–Jihye Lee

The Reserve Bank of Australia raised interest rates by 25 basis points to 2.85%, in line with the average forecast by analysts in a Reuters poll.

This is the seventh consecutive tightening move by the RBA in a bid to control inflation in the country.

The Australian dollar rallied to around $0.6440 ahead of the decision, and last traded at $0.6429 following the announcement.

At the previous meeting in October, the central bank raised rates by 25 basis points, fewer than the expected half-point hike.

— Abigail Ng

Hong Kong-listed technology stocks led gains in the wider Hang Seng index, with Meituan gaining more than 10% in the morning session.

Tencent gained 8.56%, Alibaba rose 7.2% and Xiaomi gained 4.3%. JD.com also rose 6.06%.

The move comes after the Caixin PMI data for China's factory activity came in slightly better than expected, according to CMC Markets market analyst Tina Teng.

–Jihye Lee

Mainland China and Hong Kong markets underperformed Asia-Pacific peers in the month of October.

The Hang Seng index wallowed at its lowest levels since April 2009 after losing 14.55% as of Monday's close.

Meanwhile, stocks in Australia, Japan and South Korea posted single-digit gains to close the first month of the year's final quarter, while the Shanghai Composite slipped 4.33%.

Japan stocks closed at their highest since Sept. 20, but major APAC indexes were all still underwater from the start of the year.

— Abigail Ng

After October's stock market rally, investors are debating whether stocks have hit the bottom or if it's another short-lived bounce.

Michael Landsberg, chief investment officer at Landsberg Bennett Private Wealth Management, is in the latter camp, arguing the rally, once again, looks temporary.

He told CNBC what he thinks investors should buy — and short.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Weizhen Tan

The Caixin manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index for October showed that factory activity contracted for the third month in a row.

The reading came in at 49.2, compared with expectations for a print of 49. In September, the manufacturing PMI was at 48.1, below the 50-point mark that separates growth from contraction.

PMI readings compare activity from month to month.

Official data from the National Bureau of Statistics came in at 49.2 on Monday, missing expectations for a print of 50.

— Abigail Ng

Hong Kong's gross domestic product fell by 4.5% in the third quarter of the year compared with the same period a year ago, advance estimates from the Census and Statistics Department showed Monday.

That's the worst contraction since the second quarter of 2020. Analysts polled by Reuters expected 0.7% growth, while GDP decreased 1.3% in the second quarter.

"The worsened external environment and continued disruptions to cross-boundary land cargo flows dealt a serious blow to Hong Kong's exports," the statement said, adding the drop in GDP was "mainly attributable to the weak performance in external demand during the quarter."

Fixed capital formation, or investment, decreased by 14.3%, while exports and imports also fell.

— Abigail Ng

Citi has picked a large electric car maker as one of its "top" buy ideas among Chinese stocks.

It expects shares in the automaker to rise by more than 260% over the next 12 months as EV sales soar.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Ganesh Rao

South Korea's trade deficit widened to $6.7 billion for the month of October from a revised figure of $3.78 billion in September, data from the customs agency showed.

Imports rose 9.9% to $59.18 billion from the same period a year ago, while exports dropped 5.7% to $52.48 billion.

The latest data shows the biggest drop in exports since August 2020, according to FactSet.

–Jihye Lee

Tesla may be an investor favorite for exposure to the EV industry, but Citi and HSBC name two alternatives to play the growing demand for electric vehicles.

Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Zavier Ong

Japanese officials spent 6.35 trillion yen ($42.7 billion) between Sept. 29 and Oct. 27 to defend its weakening currency that reached the weakest levels in 32 years last month.

That amount is more than double the amount spent from Aug. 30 to Sept. 28, when officials spent more than 2.83 trillion yen ($19 billion) to defend the weakening yen.

A Reuters estimate citing brokers predicted that authorities spent 6.4 trillion yen over two consecutive trading days of unannounced intervention earlier this month.

–Jihye Lee