China's Sci-Tech Innovation 50 Index turned positive after earlier sliding more than 2%. Among constituents, Jingchen rose over 6% and Cambricon gained nearly 5%.

Goldman warned attacks on refineries in the Middle East and Russia and the Russia–Ukraine war are tightening the global refining market, and raised its diesel refining margin forecasts by more than twofold. The bank said refinery outages are running about 60% above seasonal norms, pushing product margins to new highs with diesel at the center of the move; refined-product inventories are declining despite some demand erosion. Goldman now expects next-year average diesel refining profit versus Brent of $63/barrel in the US (prior $27) and $49/barrel in the EU (prior $19).

Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare said a Monday survey found 68.2% of companies hire foreign workers to ease severe staff shortages, the top-cited reason since the survey began in 2023. About 56% cited foreign workers' skills and qualifications and 18% said hiring aimed to internationalize workplaces. The results underscore corporate dependence on overseas labor even as Prime Minister Takaichi moves to tighten rules for non-Japanese residents. Teikoku Databank reported this month that over half of firms say full-time headcounts are insufficient and nearly 30% report shortages of non-regular staff, as Japan's population decline and ageing workforce push firms to increase foreign recruitment.