Australia's economy is on track for healthy growth this year, new figures showed Wednesday, with a bounce in exports helping accelerate its shift from an unprecedented resources boom.

The upbeat news follows tepid growth in recent months, as Australia's resource-driven economy has been hurt by softening Chinese demand for its commodities. 

The eurozone's bailout fund rescued Greece's largest bank on Tuesday, launching a recapitalization process that is a crucial part of the country's third loan program in five years.

The European Stability Mechanism unlocked 2.72 billion euros ($2.88 billion), to shore up Piraeus Bank, Greece's biggest lender, a statement said.

France's premier Tuesday urged tourists to come to Paris, spend money and enjoy the capital's cultural attractions to help boost the city in the wake of deadly jihadist attacks.

"Come to Paris, security conditions are assured," Prime Minister Manuel Valls said on French radio, in what he described as a "message to all those tourists who cancelled their trip to Paris in recent days".

The International Monetary Fund's recognition of China's currency is a step towards encouraging its global use, but banks will remain reluctant to hold yuan unless Beijing pushes deeper financial reforms, analysts say.

The Washington-based institution on Monday welcomed the yuan into its elite reserve currency basket known as "Special Drawing Rights", recognizing the ascendance of the Asian power, already the world's second largest economy.

Morgan Stanley plans to cut hundreds of jobs in its debt and currencies division because of a drop in revenue, the Wall Street Journal reported late Monday.

Altogether, a quarter of the staff at this division of the U.S. investment bank could be made redundant, particularly in London and to a lesser degree in New York, the newspaper said, quoting people familiar with the matter.

India's central bank kept interest rates on hold Tuesday, citing rising inflation and "weakness" in Asia's third-largest economy despite recent growth.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said the benchmark repo rate, the level at which it lends to commercial banks, would remain at 6.75 percent as analysts had expected.

Oil prices rose in Asia Tuesday but dealers were cautious before an OPEC meeting at which the cartel is expected to maintain high output levels despite a global supply glut.

Analysts say the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is likely to focus more on maintaining market share against competitors than on slashing production to lift prices.

South Korea's top messaging app operator saw its share price soared 13 percent Monday -- a day after being named by financial regulators as one of two companies permitted to start Internet-only banking services. 

Kakao Corp., which runs the Kakao Talk app, and telco major KT Corp each won preliminary approval from the Financial Services Commission (FSC) to set up what will be South Korea's first online-specific lenders.

Oil prices traded below $42 in Asia Monday ahead of an OPEC meeting and the release of data on China's important manufacturing sector later in the week.

The market will be watching whether members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, which meets on December 4, slash currently high output levels and ease a crude supply glut that has depressed prices for more than a year.

The euro weakened on Monday as traders bet that the European Central Bank will turn on the monetary stimulus taps this week, while key U.S. jobs data were also in focus.

A solid reading for Friday's employment figures would add to already strong expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise near-zero interest rates as early as December.