Most of the Asian equity benchmarks are trading up in the early deals on Monday, as weak China factory activity reinforced views that Beijing will roll out fresh support measures soon for the world's second-largest economy. Among the other markets in the Asian region, South Korea, Shanghai, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Indonesia are higher with modest gains, while Singapore is in negative territory. The markets in Japan and Malaysia are closed for Greenery Day and Wesak Day, respectively.
Hang Seng rose 105.74 points or 0.38% to 28,238.74, KOSPI Index gained 6.95 points or 0.33% to 2,134.12, Shanghai Composite added 37.55 points or 0.85% to 4,479.20, Taiwan Weighted increased 29.19 points or 0.30% to 9,849.24 and Jakarta Composite was up by 78.95 points or 1.55% to 5,165.37.
On the flip side, Straits Times was down by 6.54 points or 0.19% to 3,480.85.