The US goods deficit (Census basis) is expected to hold steady at $89.6 billion in November after deepening by $2.7 billion in October to $89.6 billion.

New jobless claims for the December 23 week are expected to come in at 210,000 versus 205,000 in the prior week.

Wholesale inventories are expected to decrease 0.2 percent on the month in the advance report for November that would follow a 0.4 percent draw in October.

Pending home sales in November, which in October fell 1.5 percent, are expected to rebound 0.8 percent.

Hong Kong's trade deficit is seen widening to HK$30.1 billion in November from a smaller-than-expected HK$25.8 billion on October, when exports rose at a faster pace than imports.

Consumer prices in South Korea are expected to rebound 0.3 percent on the month in December from an unexpectedly sharp 0.6 percent drop in November. The annual CPI rate is seen easing further to 3.2 percent from 3.3 percent in November and a seven-month high of 3.8 percent in October. At its last meeting on Nov. 30, the Bank of Korea left its policy interest rate unchanged for the seventh straight meeting, at 3.5 percent, as expected, after raising the Base Rate by 25 basis points to the current restrictive level in January.

Market Focus details key factors in the coming day that will impact the economic outlook and the financial markets. These include central bank events, economic indicators, policymaker speeches as well as expected political and corporate developments.

Keeping up-to-date with event schedules and the economic calendar is key to understanding the global financial system. Econoday's Market Focus allows investors and policymakers to carefully track what will be making news and moving the financial markets in the coming day.