Markets in Asia opened fractionally higher on Monday, with several major exchanges closed for a Labor Day public holiday.

Australia's ASX 200 (ASX: .AXJO) traded up 0.13 percent in early trade, with most sectors higher. The energy sector, however, was down 0.41 percent as oil plays struggled for gains.

Oil Search (ASX: OSH-AU) shares were down 0.28 percent, Santos (ASX: STO-AU) was down 0.14 percent, Woodside Petroleum (ASX: WPL-AU) was down 0.16 percent, Beach Energy (ASX: BPT-AU) lower by 1.36 percent and Origin Energy (ASX: ORG-AU) fell 1.25 percent.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 (Nihon Keizai Shinbun: .N225) gained 0.15 percent, with energy names also struggling — shares of Inpex (Tokyo Stock Exchange: 1605.T-JP) fell 0.98 percent.

U.S. oil prices fell in morning trade during Asian hours, down 0.24 percent at $49.21 a barrel.

The weeks sets up for several key events, including central bank decisions in Australia and the United States, a second round of presidential election in France and corporate earnings.

"We have the Fed funds futures pricing at 64 percent chance of a June hike (from the Federal Reserve), but the pricing mechanism could also easily change given we have pretty much every key piece of U.S. economic data being released," said Chris Weston, chief market strategist at spreadbettor IG, in a note.

In the currency market, the dollar index (STOXX: .DXY), which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, last traded at 98.97, dropping from levels above 99.00 reached in the previous week.

Among other currency majors, the yen (: OSEJPY=) traded at 111.35 to the dollar. Major exporters were mixed, with Toyota shares down 0.2 percent, Nissan down 0.19 percent, Honda up 0.19 percent and Sony gaining 2.58 percent.

Meanwhile, the Australian dollar (Exchange: AUD=) fetched $0.7484 and the euro (Exchange: EURBA=) traded at $1.0902.

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