Asia markets mostly set to track Wall Street gains; China factory activity data on deck –

This is CNBC’s live blog covering Asia-Pacific markets.

Asia-Pacific markets were largely set to extend gains on Tuesday, tracking Wall Street moves, with investors awaiting official announcement about any possible intervention by Japanese authorities to check the slide in yen.

The currency weakened to its lowest level against the U.S. dollar yesterday at 160.03, before strengthening sharply to trade around the 155 level.

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia said in a note that Japan’s Ministry of Finance is expected to publish Tuesday its market interventions between March 28 and April 26.

Traders will also assess China manufacturing purchasing managers’ index for April, while economic data is also expected from Japan and South Korea later in the day.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 is set to rise as traders return from a public holiday, with the futures contract in Chicago and Osaka both at 38,320 against the index’s last close of 37,934.76.

Futures for the Australian S&P/ASX 200 point to a stronger open at 7,671 compared with its last close of 7,637.4.

However, futures for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index stood at 17,697, pointing to a weaker open compared with the HSI’s close of 17,746.91.

Overnight in the U.S., all three major indexes closed higher Monday, lifted by Tesla, while traders geared up for a week dominated by corporate earnings and a Federal Reserve meeting.

Tesla jumped more than 15%, providing upward momentum to the market after clearing a key hurdle for full self-driving technology in China.

The S&P 500 rose 0.32%, while the Nasdaq Composite added 0.35%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.38%.

— CNBC’s Brian Evans contributed to this report.

CNBC Pro: Dividends and buybacks are in the spotlight. Goldman Sachs names global stocks to play the theme

Balance sheets “look healthy,” cash flow generation is “attractive,” and dividends and buybacks are set to be resilient, Goldman Sachs says.

“Shareholder returns are poised to reach an all-time high,” the bank said in an April 23 note.

But not all stocks offering buybacks and dividends are equal, Goldman said.

It highlighted its baskets of buyback stocks for a diversified strategy. This basket offers a high single-digit yield with roughly 4% via buybacks plus 4% via dividends — with a sector breakdown as close as possible to the market, said Goldman.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Weizhen Tan

CNBC Pro: This emerging market fund has outperformed over 1, 5 and 10 years. Here’s how

Aubrey Capital’s Global Emerging Markets Opportunities Fund has achieved impressive returns for many years. Over the past decade it’s up 95.4%, compared to the 33.8% return posted by its benchmark, the MSCI Emerging Market Index.

Mark Martyrossian, a director and head of distribution at Aubrey Capital, tells CNBC Pro how the fund has managed to perform so well.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Ganesh Rao

There’s good news for equities in the week ahead, Bank of America says

Bank of America sees good news in the week ahead for equities, with risk skewed to the upside.

“Our economists see no sign of stagflation and expect a continued manufacturing recovery and strong job growth, which should be positive for stocks,” wrote strategist Ohsung Kwon in a note from Monday.

Kwon elaborated that this week’s manufacturing report should indicate that the manufacturing recession has ended. Additionally, Friday’s April jobs report is also likely to indicate strength and “little sign of slowing momentum in the labor market,” the strategist noted.

— Lisa Kailai Han

16 stocks in the S&P 500 hit new 52-week highs

Sixteen stocks in the S&P 500 hit new 52-week highs during Monday’s trading session.

Of these names, nine stocks traded at their new all-time highs. These included:

• Chipotle Mexican Grill trading at all-time-high levels back to its initial public offering in January 2006
• Royal Caribbean trading at all-time-high levels back to its IPO in April 1993
• Tractor Supply trading at all-time highs back to its IPO in 1994 after being taken private by an LBO in 1982
• Goldman Sachs trading at all-time-high levels back to its IPO in May 1999
• Carrier Global trading at all-time highs back to its spin-off from United Technologies in March 2020
• Leidos Holdings trading at all-time-high levels back to the SAIC IPO in October 2006
• Trane Technologies trading at all-time-high levels back through Ingersoll Rand’s history, before its recent merger with Gardner Denver
• Veralto trading at all-time highs back to its spin-off from Danaher in October 2023
• Amphenol trading at all-time-high levels since its IPO in 1991

— Lisa Kailai Han, Christopher Hayes

Oil prices fall more than 1% as U.S. makes renewed push for Gaza cease-fire

Crude oil futures fell by $1 on Monday as the U.S. Secretary of State made a renewed diplomatic push in the Middle East to secure a cease-fire in Gaza and head off an Israeli offensive against Rafah.

A successful cease-fire agreement would likely further ease the geopolitical risk premium factored into oil prices on fears that the war in Gaza could trigger a broader conflict in the Middle East that disrupts crude supplies.

West Texas Intermediate futures were down $1.15, or 1.37%, at $82.70 a barrel. Brent futures fell $1.15, or 1.28%, to $88.35 a barrel. U.S. crude oil and the global benchmark have gained more than 14% this year.

— Spencer Kimball