Asia markets extend gains on rate cut optimism; RBA decision in focus

Asia-Pacific markets were set to extend gains from the previous session as Wall Street rose overnight on expectations that the Federal Reserve will cuts interest rates.

In Asia, investors await the Reserve Bank of Australia decision on rates as the bank concludes its two-day monetary policy meeting. Economists polled by Reuters expect the RBA to hold its benchmark lending rate at 4.35% for its fourth meeting in a row.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 inched up 0.23% ahead of the decision, on course to gain for a fourth straight day.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 also resumed trading after a holiday to rise 0.96%, while the broad-based Topix gained 0.61%.

South Korea’s Kospi popped 1.6% as trading resumed after a public holiday, while the small-cap Kosdaq rose 1.08%.

However, futures for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index stood at 18,541, pointing to a slightly weaker open compared with the HSI’s close of 18,578.3.

Overnight in the U.S., an announcement from Hamas on Monday that it had accepted an Egyptian-Qatari cease-fire proposal to end the war with Israel also gave stocks a boost, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average notching a fourth consecutive winning session, up 0.46%.

The S&P 500 advanced 1.03%, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.19%.

— CNBC’s Brian Evans and Jesse Pound contributed to this report.