Most of the Asian equity benchmarks are closed on Monday except South Korean shares. KOSPI shares got off to a slow start in the New Year, with investors awaiting minutes from the Federal Reserve's December meeting and US jobs data. The FOMC minutes are due on Wednesday and the US non-farm payrolls report for December is due on Friday. Among the other Asian markets, Nikkei, Shanghai, Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, and Taiwan, and Malaysia were shut for the New Year's holiday.
KOSPI Index was up by 0.51 points or 0.03% to 2,026.97.