Asia-Pacific markets were set to rise Monday as investors awaited clarity about U.S. President Donald Trump's plans to impose impose tariffs this week on key U.S. trading partners.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick reportedly told Fox News on Sunday that the exact tariff that will be levied against Mexico and Canada starting Tuesday is still "fluid," which means it could be lower than the proposed 25%. He added that the additional 10% duty on China imports is "set."

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 was set to open higher, with the futures contract in Chicago at 37,745 while its counterpart in Osaka last traded at 37,550, against the index's last close of 37,155.50

Futures for Hong Kong's Hang Seng index stood at 22,920 pointing to a higher open compared to the HSI's last close of 22,941.32.

China's Caixin/S&P Global manufacturing purchasing manager's index reading for February is expected later in the day. Reuters poll estimates peg it at 50.3 compared with January's 50.1 reading.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 started the day 0.64% higher.

The country's S&P Global manufacturing purchasing manager's index reading for February came in at 50.4, similar to the previous month's 50.6 reading.

Investors will be keeping a watch on Indian stocks after the South Asian economy expanded 6.2% from a year ago in its third fiscal quarter ended December, recovering from a seven-quarter low. The print is higher than the revised 5.6% growth in the July to September quarter.

Source: CNBC