Regional markets opened another week with advances, tracking gains in US stock futures as hopes grew that the historic government shutdown in the world's biggest economy might end soon.

In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng Index rose 77 points, or 0.3 percent, to open at 26,319.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index was up 0.11 percent at 4,001, while the Shenzhen Component Index was 0.37 percent higher at 13,453 and the ChiNext Index was up 0.43 percent at 3,221.

In Japan, the Nikkei climbed 0.9 percent to 50,728 in early trading while the broader Topix edged up 0.17 percent to 3,304.

In South Korea, shares climbed more than two percent by midday, underpinned by chipmakers on artificial intelligence-fuelled optimism and financial stocks on expectations of tax cuts.

S&P and Nasdaq futures were last up 0.54 percent and 0.87 percent, respectively.

Bipartisan talks in the US Senate to end the federal government shutdown appear to have taken a positive turn, Senate Majority Leader John Thune said, while the Senate moved towards a vote later in the day on reopening the government with funding measures through January. (Reuters/Xinhua)