Asia-Pacific markets were mixed Monday as traders assessed China's loan prime rate announcement, with focus also on Japan's general election at the end of this week.

 

China's central bank cut the one- and five-year LPRs by 25 basis points to 3.1% and 3.6%, respectively.

 

This has been indicated by the People's Bank of China Governor Pan Gon7sheng on Friday.

 

ING in a note last week also said that the PBOC was likely to release its rate decision for the medium term lending facility on Friday, although it is expected to be left unchanged at 2% after being reduced by 30 basis points last month.

 

"Data aside, it is worth monitoring if there are potential further government ministry briefings or a potential announcement of the timing for the National People's Congress meeting in the week ahead, as stimulus rollout remains a major theme for markets," ING said.

 

Other key economic data this week will include October inflation figures for Japan's capital city of Tokyo, as well as advance third-quarter GDP figures from South Korea.

 

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 closed marginally lower at 38,954.6, while the broad based Topix fell 0.34% to 2,679.91.

 

South Korea's Kospi climbed 0.43%, snapping a three day losing streak and ending at 2,604.92, while the small-cap Kosdaq jumped 0.89% to 759.95, also ending a three day losing streak.

 

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 closed up 0.74% at 8,344.4.

 

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 1.43% as of its final hour, while mainland China's CSI 300 rose 0.25% to 3,935.19.

 

In the U.S., both the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged to record highs Friday, sealing six straight weeks of gains.

 

The broad market benchmark advanced 0.40% to close at 5,864.67, while the blue-chip Dow gained 36.86 points, or 0.09%, to end at 43,275.91.

 

The Nasdaq Composite, led by a postearnings jump in Netflix, ended the day up 0.63% at 18,489.55.

 

Bitcoin surged to its highest level in three months after election polls showed higher odds of winning for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

 

The cryptocurrency surged to a high of $69,487 on Monday, its highest level since July.

 

Wall Street analysts have raised their bets on three stocks ahead of their quarterly earnings reports over the past week.

 

One of the stocks, a Big Tech AI firm, has rallied 64% this year, with analysts predicting more momentum ahead.

 

CNBC Pro screened for stocks in the MSCI World index that have received share price target upgrades from Wall Street analysts over the past seven days. These stocks are also due to report quarterly financial results over the next few weeks.

 

Reserve Bank of Australia Deputy Governor Andrew Hauser expressed surprise over the strong employment growth in the country, Reuters reported.

 

In September, Australian employment beat expectations for a sixth consecutive month, according to data from LSEG, while the jobless rate remained stable.

 

Gold mining stocks in Australia have risen to a four-year high as gold hit a fresh record on Monday, with bullion futures prices climbing to an all-time high of $2,728 per ounce on Monday,

 

The largest gold miner in the Australian index, Northern Star Resources, posted a gain of as much as 2.1% to hit a record high, while heavyweight Newmont Corporation rose as much as 2.42% to also reach an all time high.

 

As investors attempt to navigate volatile global markets, Morgan Stanley is reiterating its recommendation to buy dividend stocks.

 

"We recommend balanced and flexible strategy investors supplement their portfolio with dividend income, given high uncertainty into U.S. elections on November 5, and with a global monetary easing cycle likely to put a stronger focus on dividend yield," Morgan Stanley's analysts wrote in an Oct. 15 research note.

 

China's central bank has cut the one- and five-year loan prime rates to 3.1% and 3.6% respectively, a 25 basis point cut for both metrics.

 

The one-year LPR affects corporate and most household loans in China, while the five-year LPR acts as a benchmark for mortgage rates.

 

The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied to new records to close Friday's session.

 

The strength in the U.S. economy is not surprising, according to hedge fund billionaire John Paulson.

 

"Well, it is positive," the Paulson & Co. founder told CNBC's "Money Movers" on Friday. "The tech sector is doing well, but a lot of the growth is due to the deficit spending."

 

Paulson, who is a supporter of former President Donald Trump and has been a major donor to his 2024 presidential campaign, pointed to the 14% increase in federal spending compared to last year's period. The national deficit currently sits at nearly $2 trillion.

 

Gold futures rose to a fresh intraday all-time high of $2,732.30 on Friday. Week to date, gold futures are up 1.8%, on pace for the fifth positive week in six.

 

The VanEck Gold Miners ETF (GDX) hit its highest level since September 2020 and was headed for its seventh straight daily gain.