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

Japan and South Korea markets started the last trading week of 2023 on a positive note with the Nikkei 225 all set to emerge as the region's top performer this year, but China stocks continued to slide.

Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong markets were closed for Boxing Day holiday.

Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.16% to close at 33,305.85. It has gained more than 27% so far this year.

The broader Topix climbed marginally to end at 2,338.86.

China's CSI 300 index closed 0.68% lower at 3,324.79, dragged down by declines in technology and real estate stocks. The index has lost over 14% this year.

South Korea's Kospi climbed 0.12% to 2,602.59, while the small-cap Kosdaq fell 0.73% to close at 848.34.

The Topix has gained 23.5% so far this year, while the Kospi has advanced 16.2%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index has been the worst performer of 2023, down about 17.4%.

Wall Street's major averages clocked an eighth straight winning week on Friday, looking to extend their year-end rally.

The S&P 500 index gained 0.17% to 4,754.63 in its previous trading session — just 0.9% shy from its record close, and 1.3% from its intraday record.

The Nasdaq Composite rose by 0.19%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 18.38 points, or 0.05%.

— CNBC's Sarah Min and Jesse Pound contributed to this report

Singapore November manufacturing activity growth drops to 1%, misses expectations

Singapore's manufacturing output rose 1% year-on-year in November, a sharp drop from the revised 7.6% expansion seen in October and lower than the 3.1% expected by a Reuters poll of economists.

Excluding the volatile biomedical manufacturing sector, output increased 1.9%.

On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, manufacturing output in Singapore fell 7.8% in November, and excluding biomedical manufacturing, it declined 9.4%.

Manufacturing accounts for about 20% of Singapore's economy and is the country's largest sector.

— Lim Hui Jie

Singapore November inflation rate slows to 25-month low, core inflation rate unchanged

Singapore's inflation rate slowed to 3.6% in November from 4.7% the month before to hit its lowest level since October 2021.

This was also lower than the 3.8% expected by economists polled by Reuters, and marked the city-state's slowest pace of inflation in 25 months.

The so-called "MAS Core Inflation Measure," which strips out prices of private transport and accommodation, came in at 3.2%, slightly lower than October's 3.3% and in line with Reuters estimates.

The core inflation measure is one of the metrics the country's monetary authority uses to frame its policy.

— Lim Hui Jie

China’s potential new gaming rules will hit smaller developers more, analyst says

China's proposed gaming rules would hit smaller developers more than the larger ones, while also reducing overall online advertising revenue, according to UBS.

Tencent, NetEase and Bilibili shares plunged to their lowest in more than a year Friday after China's National Press and Publication Administration published draft rules that would prohibit incentivizing daily sign-ins for games, among other revenue-generating practices.

Hong Kong markets were closed Monday for Christmas and will remain shut Tuesday too.

"Big game developers or big DAU [daily active user] social games should fare better: This is because they have other means to boost gamers engagement, reach out to users and have stronger R&D capabilities to attract and retain gamers," Kenneth Fong, head of China internet research, UBS, said in a note.

Read the full story here.

— Evelyn Cheng, Shreyashi Sanyal

Japan's unemployment rate remains unchanged in November

Japan's unemployment rate remained unchanged at 2.5% in November from the prior month, according to government data on Tuesday.

The jobless rate also met Reuters poll forecast of 2.5%.

Separately, data from the Bank of Japan showed services producers price index rose 2.3% in November.

Services PPI was also unchanged from the prior month's reading.

Japan's Nikkei 225, which opened flat on Tuesday, is set to wrap up this year with gains of over 27%. The yen traded slightly stronger against the dollar, at around 142.

— Shreyashi Sanyal

CNBC Pro: Analysts love these top-performing stocks and expect them to jump further in 2024

Markets in the U.S. and elsewhere have had a strong run this year.

The S&P 500 is up around 24% year-to-date, and the MSCI World index has jumped around 22%.

And there could be more room for investors to remain bullish in the year ahead, with the U.S. Federal Reserve indicating three more rate cuts in 2024.

CNBC Pro screened for stocks that have beaten the S&P 500 and MSCI World indexes so far this year — and that analysts have given more upside for the next 12 months.

Subscribers can read more here.

— Weizhen Tan

CNBC Pro: Will bitcoin rally after a major technical event in April? Here's what history shows

Bitcoin is approaching a major technical event in April 2024 known as "halving."

Many investors expect this closely watched event to be a catalyst for price rallies since the cryptocurrency has been programmed to cut the supply of new bitcoin created and awarded to miners by 50% roughly every four years.

CNBC Pro's analysis of data sheds light on returns typically expected after Bitcoin halving events.

Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Ganesh Rao