Australia stocks gained ahead of minutes from its central bank's last policy meeting, while the New Zealand dollar weakened following an inflation reading, the first since the elections over the weekend.
The minutes from the Reserve Bank of Australia will detail the central bank's rationale for holding its benchmark lending rates at 4.1% during its October monetary policy meeting, the fourth straight month that it has kept rates unchanged.Dow Jones Industrial AverageCNBC Pro: Wall Street says small-cap stocks are a good bet in a choppy market. Here are the top namesThe Russell 2000 index turned in five straight days of gains for the first time since mid-July, according to CNBC analysis.
"This is a great time for people to get their portfolios more in balance because we see positive returns across cash, bands and equities. When we look out towards the middle of next year, we can see the S&P 500 probably about 4500 and we can see the 10-year at about 3.5%," Haefele told CNBC's"Haefele added that so-called bond vigilantes aren't overly concerned with the prospect of a U.S. default, which underpins his thesis for a dip in the benchmark 10-year Treasury.