Traders in Asia will also look toward August consumer prices index from Japan and Hong Kong, and central bank decisions from Bank of Japan and People's Bank of China.

Wall Street is holding near its records after the Federal Reserve kicked off its efforts to prevent a recession with a bigger-than-usual cut to interest rates.

The S&P 500 is hovering just below record territory, driven by a revived rally as bets have grown that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates by half a percentage point.