Asia-Pacific markets set to open mixed as Trump rally continues

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Sydney Building take from Cremorne Point.

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Asia-Pacific markets are set to open mixed on Tuesday, with investors expected to exercise caution even as the Dow Jones Industrial Average's post-election rally continued to gain momentum to close at a record high.

Futures for Australia's S&P/ASX 200 stood at 8,279, slightly higher than the index's last close of 8,259.

Japan's Nikkei 225 futures pointed to a stronger open for the market, with the futures contract in Chicago at 39,660 and its counterpart in Osaka at 39,630 compared to the previous close of 39,533.32

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index futures were at 20,324, lower than the HSI's last close of 20,426.93.

Traders in Asia-Pacific will be monitoring a swathe of economic data in the region, including a survey from the National Australia Bank on business conditions, Indonesia's retail sales in September, and India's consumer price index for October.

Oil cartel OPEC is also set to release its monthly oil market report later in the day.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged more than 300 points on Monday and closed at a record high as the benchmark's postelection rally pressed forward.

The 30-stock Dow gained 304 points, or 0.69%, to 44,293.69. It's rise brought the index above 44,000 for the first time. The S&P 500 added 0.1% to end the day at 6,001.35 and also earned a record close by surpassing 6,000 for the first time. However, the Nasdaq Composite hovered near the flatline, up 0.06% to 19,298.76.

Bitcoin surged above $87,000, boosted by hopes of deregulation as well. Crypto related stocks Coinbase and Mara Holdings rallied 20% and 30%, respectively.

—CNBC's Brian Evans and Alex Harring contributed to this report.

CNBC Pro: What Trump's election victory means for global investors

President-elect Donald Trump's return to the White House has sent ripples through global financial markets, with many investors looking to recalibrate their portfolios for a dramatically different policy landscape ahead.

The Republican sweep of the presidency and, potentially, both houses of Congress has triggered what analysts call the return of "Trump trades" — but with key differences to 2016 that could reshape the investment outlook.

Wall Street banks have digested the potential impact of Trump's win on U.S. bonds, Asian and European stocks, and currencies and what lies ahead for investors.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Ganesh Rao

CNBC Pro: Want to cash in on China's stimulus? Here's what the pros expect next

Chinese markets are back in the spotlight after a slew of government stimulus measures over recent weeks.

Friday's news of a five-year 10 trillion Chinese yuan ($1.4 trillion) debt swap program disappointed investors, however, falling short of calls for more direct support for the economy.

For many market participants — including Pella Funds' Jordan Cvetanovski — this means taking a longer view when it comes to investing in the Asian powerhouse.

"The markets are always impatient. They want to see a big sugar high immediately, and they want to see a big bazooka ... However, as we've discovered over many years, the Chinese government ... does things in a more measured fashion," he said.

As investors ponder how to navigate the Chinese market, Bernstein named a number of stock opportunities.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Amala Balakrishner

Another milestone for iShares Bitcoin ETF

The postelection rally for crypto has taken out another milestone for bitcoin exchange-traded funds.

As of Friday, the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) now has more assets under management than the iShares Gold Trust (IAU), according to FactSet. The bitcoin fund's lead over its gold counterpart should expand once the weekend's move in bitcoin is factored in to the ETF data.

IBIT, which launched in January, is the biggest of the so-called spot bitcoin ETFs. It is still around half the size of the biggest gold ETF, the SPDR Gold Shares (GLD).

The bitcoin ETF was up about 6% in morning trading Monday.

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The iShares Bitcoin Trust was rallying on Monday.

— Jesse Pound

Powell was prepared to contest effort to remove him as Fed chair, report says

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speaks during a news conference following a Federal Open Market Committee meeting in Washington on Nov. 7, 2024.

Kent Nishimura | Getty Images

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell was prepared to fight any efforts that former President Donald Trump might have launched to remove the central bank leader from his position, The Wall Street Journal reported.

To do so, Powell likely would have had to use his own money as the Fed may not have standing to address such a challenge, the report added. The question arose after multiple public statements Trump had made condemning Powell and his colleagues during Trump's first term in office.

There have been no indications so far that Trump has any inkling to remove Powell, though he has indicated that he thinks the president should be consulted on Fed rate decisions. At a news conference last week, Powell was asked about the possibility that he could be removed, to which he responded it is "not permitted under the law."

— Jeff Cox