A worker assembles a loader transport mechanism at a manufacturer in Zhengzhou, China.
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The Australian market opened lower on the last trading day of the year, while investors in Asia awaited manufacturing data from China.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.56% in short trading.
Stock markets in Japan and South Korea are closed for the New Year holiday. South Korea's consumer inflation rate accelerated in December, rising by 1.9% year-on-year. The CPI came in at 1.5% in November. On a monthly basis, prices increased by 0.4%.
Traders will be watching China's December manufacturing PMI. Analysts polled by Reuters expected a reading of 50.3, the same as the November PMI reading. A reading above 50 indicates expansion in activity, while a reading below this level indicates contraction.
Hong Kong stock markets will have a short trading day.
Overnight in the US, stocks fell in one of the final trading sessions of 2024, as a banner year for investors appeared to have ended on a sour note.
Trading was choppy all day, and the Dow Jones fell more than 700 points at session lows. There was no clear news behind Monday's decline, and trading was expected to be light given the short week
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 418.48 points, or 0.97%, to close at 42,573.73 points. The S&P 500 fell 1.07% to 5,906.94, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.19% to 19,486.78.
— CNBC's Jesse Pound and Samantha Sobin contributed to this report.
