Most of the Asian equity benchmarks are trading up in the early deals on Monday despite disappointing Chinese factory data and last week's Wall Street decline. Over the weekend, China's National Bureau of Statistics reported that industrial production and retail sales grew less than expected in April, damping hopes of stabilization in the economy. Fixed-asset investment also slowed, the bureau said. Meanwhile, the Japanese stock market is advancing on the back of a weaker yen and following a media report that the government may delay a sales tax hike. Among the other Asian markets, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, and Taiwan are also higher. Bucking the trend, Indonesia, South Korea, and Malaysia are in negative territory.
Nikkei 225 added 195.32 points or 1.19% to 16,607.53, Hang Seng surged 230.15 points or 1.17% to 19,949.44, Taiwan Weighted increased 36.57 points or 0.45% to 8,090.26, Straits Times gained 2.13 points or 0.08% to 2,737.04, and Shanghai Composite was up by 6.37 points or 0.23% to 2,833.48.
On the flip side, KOSPI Index declined 0.11 points or 0.01% to 1,966.88, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI dipped 12.36 points or 0.76% to 1,615.90, and Jakarta Composite was down by 25.06 points or 0.53% to 4,736.65.