Asian markets open with smaller gains after strong rally

South Korea's Kospi and Hong Kong's Hang Seng are the strongest gainers, up 1.7 percent and 1.1 percent respectively.

In Japan, both the Nikkei 225 and the broader Topix are rising, but by a more modest 0.5 percent and 0.4 percent respectively.

Both Shenzhen and Shanghai are unchanged.