Hong Kong's Hang Seng and Australia's index are closed today due to Christmas.

China's news is that china's National Health Commission (NHC) will stop publishing daily COVID-19 statistics. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi stated on Sunday that relations with Washington face "serious problems."

In mainland China, the Shenzhen Composite rose 0.39 percent at 2:44 a.m. European time, while the Shanghai Composite climbed 0.44 percent at 2:59 a.m. European time.

Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 118 points, or 0.45 percent, and South Korea's Kospi dropped 0.15 percent at 3:00 a.m. European time.

The dollar was down 0.31 percent from the Japanese yen at 2:58 a.m. European time, trading at 132.477 yen.