China

China's central bank raised banks' required reserves and the U.S. Federal Reserve raised its discount rate after the market closed for last week's Lunar New Year holiday.

The Shanghai Composite Index opened nearly flat at 3,016.703 points compared with 3,018.133 at the close on Feb. 12, the last trading day ahead of the break. It then slipped as much as 0.46 percent before rising 0.28 percent to the morning's peak of 3,026.659.

The market's relatively flat opening reassured overseas markets that had been spooked by China's reserve ratio hike, with Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng Index rising 2.4 percent in early trade while its China Enterprises Index of top locally listed mainland Chinese stocks was up 2.50 percent.

The Shanghai-listed A shares of top lender Industrial and Commercial Bank of China dropped 0.20 percent, while Bank of Communications (BoCom) was down 0.85 percent.