China's stock market falls 5%

The Shanghai Composite Index slipped 0.3 percent to 3,435.46 at 9:35 a.m. local time, led by financial companies.

On the data front, investors will be keeping an eye on Friday's non farms payroll data for November in the U.S., which are likely to give further indication on whether the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates in December.

China's main share index closed down by more than 5% after several major brokerage firms announced they were under investigation. The previous month, the official Xinhua News Agency said eight Citic employees and one current and one former employee of the market regulator were suspected of illegal stock trading. The Chinese stock market, "if it's not controlled, moves in these boom-and-bust cycles, and it was definitely heading for another boom".

The government intervention in China's mainland capital markets appears to have worked, at least for now: The Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index has risen more than 25 percent since mid-August.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index added 0.1 per cent. Dick Smith Holdings Ltd. plunged 47 per cent in Sydney after the electronics retailer said it sees a A$60 million ($43 million) writedown and abandoned its profit forecast.

The Hang Seng index dropped 0.4 per cent, to 21,974.81 points.

On Sunday, Citi Securities, Haitong Securities and Guosen Securities, three of China's largest brokers, revealed they were being investigated by the country's regulator because of alleged violations of rules relating to signing margin-trade contracts with their customers.

E-mini futures on the Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 0.2 per cent after the underlying gauge climbed 0.1 per cent on Friday in a shortened session. The yuan was little changed in offshore trading in Hong Kong after the International Monetary Fund said the Chinese currency will join the dollar, euro, pound and yen in its Special Drawing Rights basket.