Japan leads gains in Asia as investors shake off pressures from Hamas attack

Guzman y Gomez could go public in 2024 or 2025, Hilton Brett, co-CEO of the fast food restaurant chain, told CNBC's "Street Signs Asia."

"We haven't got a fixed date on that" but the details of an initial public offering would be "determined by market conditions of that time ... and also as we kind of extend our search for a CFO to come into place in the business," he added.

Guzman y Gomez currently operates in Australia, Japan and Singapore and is pushing to expand further in the U.S.

Fellow co-CEO Steven Marks said, however, the IPO would likely list in Australia.

— Quek Jie Ann

Exports from the Philippines climbed 4.2% in August, rebounding from July's revised 0.9% contraction and marking the fastest pace of expansion this year.

Imports slid 13.1% year on year, a softer contraction from the revised 15.2% loss in July.

Total external trade for the Philippines came in at $17.53 billion in August, down 7.2% year on year.

The country's trade deficit stood at $4.13 billion, shrinking by almost a third from a year ago.

— Lim Hui Jie

Hong Kong stocks extended gains on Tuesday, with the Hang Seng index up as much as 2% and among top gainers in Asian markets.

Leading gains on the index were real estate and technology stocks, with Chinese shopping platform operator Meituan and sportswear company Li Ning, up 4.78% and 4.42%, respectively.

Logistics company Orient Overseas was a rare decliner on the day, down 3.9%.

Hong Kong experienced a shortened trading day of just two hours in the previous session due to a typhoon warning.

— Shreyashi Sanyal

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 surged over 2% on Tuesday, led by gains in energy and distribution stocks.

The largest gainer on the index is oil exploration company Inpex Corporation, while other top gainers also include trading house Mitsui and Co, as well as engineering company Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.

In contrast, some of the top losers were flag carriers All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines, which slid 1.5% and 2.45% respectively.

— Lim Hui Jie

Goldman Sachs is bullish on Japan right now and says one sector in particular is seeing a "high level of interest" following rallies of around 30%.

The bank reveals two stocks to buy and gives both around 20% upside potential.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Amala Balakrishner

The conflict between Israel and Hamas may not have a direct impact on oil supply, but it's likely to drive up oil prices in the short term just based on fears of a wider escalation, according to analysts.

CNBC Pro asked fund managers and analysts which energy names they would focus on.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Weizhen Tan

All sectors ended Monday in the green, led by gains in energy and industrials, which closed higher by 3.5%, and 1.6%, respectively. Oil and natural-gas prices jumped during the day, driven by Hamas' attack on Israel and Israel's ensuing battle against the Hamas militants, leading to concerns about the region's oil supply.

Halliburton was the biggest energy winner, with the stock popping 6.8%, followed by Marathon Oil Corp and ConocoPhillips.

Along with oil and gas giants, major defense companies also jumped amid the Middle East conflict. Defense tech and aerospace giants Northrop Grumman Corp and L3Harris Technologies led industrials higher, adding 11.4% and 9.9%, respectively. Lockheed Martin also climbed 9.9%.

The real estate sector gained 1.3%, while utilities added 1%.

— Pia Singh

The odds of another rate hike from the Federal Reserve in November is falling, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.

Markets are pricing in an 86% likelihood on Monday that the Federal Reserve will hold rates steady at next month's policy meeting. That's up sharply from a 72.9% chance on Friday.

— Sarah Min

Gold futures, the U.S. dollar and U.S. Treasuries all rose in early trading Monday as investors sought what are perceived to be safe ports in a world of increased violence, expanding defense budgets and uncertain inflation.

Gold rallied about $28 the ounce to $1859.80, up 1.53%, according to FactSet.

The DXY Index that measures the value of a dollar against six global currencies, but mostly the euro and the yen, rose as high as 0.4712% Monday, to 106.60.

Although the bond market is closed for Columbus Day, 10-year Treasury futures added about 0.67%, the five-year gained 0.50% and the two-year by 0.20%.

— Scott Schnipper

Defense stocks surged Monday as the Israel-Hamas conflict sparked concerns of geopolitical instability, making them the broad market index's biggest gainers as of Monday afternoon.

Northrop Grumman jumped 10.7%, followed by L3Harris Technologies up 9.5%. Huntington Ingalls Industries, General Dynamics and Lockheed Martin all rallied more than 8%.

Meanwhile, consumer discretionary continued its decline, making it the worst-performing sector in the S&P 500. V.F. Corporation fell 5.5%, with Carnival closely behind, down nearly 5%.

— Hakyung Kim