Asia-Pacific markets trade mixed as investors look toward Fed decision

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

Asia-Pacific markets opened mixed Tuesday, tracking mixed gains on Wall Street as investors look toward the U.S. Federal Reserve's decision stateside.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 traded 0.73% higher.

Japan's Nikkei 225 and Topix rose 0.12% and 0.11% respectively. South Korea's Kospi slipped 1%, while the Kosdaq dropped 0.92%.

Chinese leaders have decided to increase the country's budget deficit to 4% of GDP in 2025 in a bid to keep economic growth at around 5% next year, Reuters reported Tuesday. China's CSI 300 traded 1.1% higher, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index traded around the flatline.

Overnight in the U.S., the Nasdaq Composite advanced to a record, lifted by a rally in tech. The tech-heavy index gained 1.24% to 20,173.89, while the S&P 500 added 0.38%, closing at 6,074.08. The Dow Jones Industrial Average underperformed, losing 110.58 points, or 0.25%, to end at 43,717.48. The 30-stock Dow fell for an eighth day, marking its longest run of losses since 2018.

The Fed decision on Dec. 18 stateside will also be top of mind for investors, with the CME Fedwatch tool currently forecasting a 98.2% chance of a 25-basis-points cut.

Contrary to the general upward trend, market darling Nvidia, the artificial intelligence chipmaker that had driven stock gains over the past two years, saw a 1.7% decline. This drop pushed the stock into correction territory, falling over 10% from its recent all-time high in November.

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

China to raise budget deficit to a record 4% of GDP, says Reuters

Chinese leaders have decided to increase the country's budget deficit to 4% of GDP for next year in a bid to keep economic growth at around 5% next year, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing two sources familiar with the matter.

This new deficit target, which will be the highest on record, marks a sharp increase from the 3% of GDP target for 2024. The additional one percentage point of GDP translates to additional government spending of around 1.3 trillion yuan ($178.5 billion), Reuters said.

Reuters said the decision was made at last week's Central Economic Work Conference, but the targets haven't been officially announced.

China's benchmark CSI 300 traded 1.1% higher Tuesday afternoon, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.39%.

—Lee Ying Shan

Alibaba to record $1.3 billion loss from Intime sale

Alibaba said on Tuesday it has agreed it sell its department store business, Intime, to a consortium of buyers for around 7.4 billion yuan ($1 billion) in a transaction that will see it record a one-time loss of approximately 9.3 billion yuan ($1.3 billion).

The buyers include Youngor Group, a Chinese textile company, and members of Intime's management team.

Alibaba bought Intime, one of China's leading department store operators, for a reported $2.6 billion in 2017.

- Kevin Lim

Singapore's November exports rise stronger than expectations

Singapore's non-oil domestic exports in November advanced 3.4% year-on-year, exceeding Reuters' expectations of a 0.7% decline. The reading reversed a 4.7% drop in October.

Singapore's shipments of electronics increased while non-electronics fell, government statistics showed Tuesday.

On a month-on-month basis, non-oil domestic exports surged 14.7%, up from a 7.5% drop the month before, and beating Reuters' expectations of an 8% increase.

—Lee Ying Shan

Softbank Group shares rise after announcement of $100 billion U.S. investment

Shares of Softbank Group climbed on Tuesday after CEO Masayoshi Son revealed plans to invest $100 billion in the U.S. during a visit to President-elect Donald Trump's residence.

On Monday, the billionaire investor and founder of the Japanese tech-investing firm, in collaboration with Trump, committed to creating at least 100,000 jobs, primarily in artificial intelligence and associated infrastructure. The money will be deployed before the end of Trump's term.

Softbank Group shares traded 3.15% higher in its first hour of trade.

—Lee Ying Shan

CNBC Pro: 3 reasons why smaller European stocks are about to outperform: Deutsche Bank

Deutsche Bank strategists are expecting smaller European stocks to significantly outperform their larger counterparts in the coming months, citing three key factors that could drive this growth.

The investment bank says small-cap stocks have the potential to gain 18% every year over the next three years, if the three key macro-economic drivers were to play out.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Ganesh Rao

S&P 500, Nasdaq close higher

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite closed higher on Monday, with the technology-heavy index notching a fresh all-time high and closing record.

The broad market index gained 0.38% to close at 6,074.08. The Nasdaq advanced 1.24% to 20,173.89, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average ticked down about 110 points, or 0.25%, to finish the session at 43,717.48.

— Brian Evans

Dollar rises against yen, euro

The dollar strengthened against the yen and the euro ahead of the Federal Reserve policy meeting later this week.

The greenback last gained 0.3% against the yen at 154.11. Earlier on Monday, the dollar reached as high as 154.480 yen for the first time since Nov. 26.

Against the euro, the dollar climbed 0.2%. The euro last traded at $1.05.

— Hakyung Kim