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

South Korean stocks fell 2%, leading losses in the wider Asia-Pacific region as investors parse trade data coming out of China, as well as a rate hike by the Reserve Bank of Australia.

South Korea's Kospi lost 2.33% to close off at 2,443.96, easing off Monday's gains when the index posted its best session since late March 2020 after the country re-imposed a ban on short selling. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 slipped 1.34% to close at 32,271.82 while.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 traded 0.29% lower to close at 6,977.1 after the Australian central bank raised its key policy rate by 25 basis points to 4.35%, in line with expectations.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 1.53% in its last hour of trade. China's CSI 300 closed 0.35% lower to end at 3,619.76.

Overnight in the U.S., all three indexes eked out narrow gains to build on last week's strong rally. The Nasdaq Composite jumped 0.3% to finish at 13,518.78,  notching its longest positive streak since January. The S&P 500 edged up 0.18% to end at 4,365.98, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average inched up 34.54 points, or 0.1%, to settle at 34,095.86.

— CNBC's Samantha Subin and Tanaya Macheel contributed to this report.

Australia's central bank hikes key policy rate, in line with expectations

The Reserve Bank of Australia raised its key policy rate by 25 basis points to 4.35%, in line with Reuters' expectations.

"Inflation in Australia has passed its peak but is still too high and is proving more persistent than expected a few months ago," the central bank's governor, Michele Bullock, said in a statement. She added that the risk of inflation remaining higher for longer has increased since RBA's August meeting.

Australia's inflation in September rose 5.4% year-on-year, according to official data.

Bullock maintains that returning inflation to target within a reasonable timeframe remains the board's priority.

—Lee Ying Shan

2024 will be another tough year for the global freight industry, says HSBC

Global freight rates declined in the first half of 2023, according to a report by United Parcel Service, an American multinational shipping and logistics company. And HSBC said that pattern could continue next year.

"2024 will be another tough year when it comes to the freight rate or the liners' profitability or even for that matter, freight forwarders. '24 will be lower than 2023," Parash Jain, head of shipping and ports and Asia transport research at HSBC, told CNBC's "Squawk Box Asia."

Jain noted that the coming holiday season and strong e-commerce demand out of Asia could give a "lease of life" to the air freight market "but nothing more than that."

Still, the air freight market could perform better than expected but "we wont see any rush from the retailers to go and stock it up leading up to the holiday season," he added.

— Quek Jie Ann

China’s imports surprise with growth in October, but exports fall more than expected

China reported a worse-than-expected drop in exports in October, while imports surprisingly rose compared to a year ago.

China's customs agency said exports in U.S. dollar terms fell by 6.4% in October from a year ago. That's worse than the 3.3% drop predicted by a Reuters poll.

Imports rose by 3% in U.S. dollar terms in October from a year ago. That's in contrast to Reuters' forecast for a 4.8% drop from a year ago.

—Evelyn Cheng, Lee Ying Shan

South Korea's Kospi slips 2%, dragged by energy and manufacturing stocks

South Korea's Kospi lost 2%, dragged by energy and industrial stocks.

The fall marks an easing off from Monday's gains when the index posted its best session since late March 2020 after the country re-imposed a ban on short selling.

The Kukdong Oil and Chemicals Co. shed 6.38%, while Korea Petroleum Industries' shares slipped 5.95%. Daesung Energy fell 2.15%.

Shares of manufacturing companies are also in the red. Taeyang Metal Industrial shed 4%, and Aekyung Industrial dipped 3.45%.

Other index heavyweights like LGES fell over 7%. Naver was down 2.68%.

—Lee Ying Shan

CNBC Pro: Analysts say these growth stocks are set to jump even further — giving them over 30% upside

Recent months have been volatile for stocks, thanks to sharply rising Treasury yields, expectations of a recession and high interest rates.

But stocks bounced back last week, with major averages capping their best week so far this year. Overall, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite are still up around 15% and 29% in the year to date.

For those keen on getting back into the growth corner of the market, CNBC Pro screened for stocks in the iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF that have further upside.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Weizhen Tan

Reserve Bank of Australia expected to hike rates

Australia's central bank is expected to raise its cash rate by 25 basis points to 4.35% at the November policy meeting, ANZ forecasts.

"We expect the RBA to increase the cash rate by 25bp this afternoon following recent hawkish rhetoric and the stronger than expected Q3 inflation print," ANZ wrote in a daily note. The central bank held borrowing costs steady in its past four meetings.

The bank's economists added they do not expect any easing until the fourth quarter of 2024, with risks skewed towards further tightening in the near term.

Australia's inflation in September ticked up 5.4% year-on-year, according to official data.

—Lee Ying Shan

Cryptocurrencies rise after ether touches $1,900 for the first time since July

Altcoins rose on Monday after ether hit $1,900 over the weekend for the first time since July.

Litecoin added 3.4% while Ripple's XRP rose 9.1%. In the decentralized finance sector, the tokens tied to Polygon and Cardano advanced 4% and 6%, respectively. Uniswap added 6% as well.

Bitcoin and ether were flat after their prices spiked over the weekend, with bitcoin again touching the $35,000 level while ether reached $1,900 for the first time since July – when the two were holding onto gains from the initial bitcoin ETF-fueled rally this year.

"Alts are playing catch up to bitcoin today," Ryan Rasmussen, analyst at Bitwise Asset Management, told CNBC. "Historically we've seen bitcoin rally, then ether, then alts – and that pattern seems to be repeating as this bull market heats up."

Graeme Moore, head of tokenization at Polymesh Network, added that traders are "front-running the next bull market as they've done in previous cycles where small, illiquid altcoins rise sharply. Due to this renewed confidence and interest, traders are also seeing opportunities that they weren't seeing before."

— Tanaya Macheel

CNBC Pro: Goldman says Bank of Japan's policy tweak is good news for banks — and names top picks in the sector

The Bank of Japan's recent decision to increase flexibility on its yield curve control is good news for its banking sector — and some stocks are set to benefit, according to Goldman Sachs.

Analyst Makoto Kuroda wrote in notes to CNBC that Japanese banks "remain in focus as a beneficiary" of BOJ's interest rate normalization.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more about Goldman's top picks in the sector here.

— Amala Balakrishner

Oil rises slightly as Saudi, Russia maintain cuts, sanctions loom against Iran

Oil rose slightly on Monday after Saudi Arabia and Russia confirmed they would continue to cut production to cushion prices amid concerns over a softening economy and weaker demand.

Brent rose about $1.28, or 1.51%, to $86.17 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate increased $1.39, or 1.73%, to $81.90.

The Saudis said Sunday that they will continue to slash 1 million barrels per day until the end of the year. The kingdom's daily production will stand at about 9 million barrels.

The Russians said they would continue to slash crude and petroleum product exports by 300,000 barrels per day. Moscow and Riyadh will review whether to deepen the cuts or increase production next month.

The market is also bracing for the U.S. to potentially ratchet up sanctions Iran. The House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed legislation Friday to harden sanctions on Iranian oil exports in response to the Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel.

Oil prices so far have not responded dramatically to the war in Gaza as the U.S. undertakes intense diplomacy in the region to keep the conflict from spreading.

— Spencer Kimball

The Fed is done raising rates, says BCA Research

Don't expect more Federal Reserve rate hikes from here, according to BCA Research.

"Although the interest-rate outlook is uncertain, we stand by our expectation that the Fed is finished hiking," wrote Doug Peta, the firm's chief U.S. investment strategist. "We think a recession is nearly inevitable, however, and our best guess is that it will begin in the first half of next year, so we are preparing to turn defensive."

"We are already underweight equities and overweight fixed income over a twelve-month timeframe and look forward to aligning our tactical and cyclical recommendations before too long," Peta said.

— Fred Imbert