Asian stock markets ended mostly higher on Monday amid hopes of further stimulus measures from China after Premier Wen Jiabao warned Sunday that the recovery in the world’s second largest economy was not stable. Markets opened on a positive note on Monday, tracking positive cues from the rally of Wall Street on Friday. Meanwhile, euro and oil dropped ahead of inflation and confidence reports in Europe.
However, strong gains in Australia due to mining stocks rally supported the markets in good way, while China slid close to a six-month low on warnings over its economy. Investors are waiting for the trigger from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's testimony to Congress on Tuesday, which will be scrutinized to see whether the US central bank will introduce easing to stimulate the economy.
The Japanese market remained closed on Monday for a public holiday.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 2,147.96 | -37.94 | -1.74 |
Hang Seng | 19,121.34 | 28.71 | 0.15 |
Jakarta Composite | 4,047.47 | 27.79 | 0.69 |
KLSE Composite | 1,635.96 | 9.58 | 0.59 |
Nikkei 225 | - | - | - |
Straits Times | 2,998.75 | 3.19 | 0.11 |
KOSPI Composite | 1,817.79 | 4.90 | 0.27 |
Taiwan Weighted | 7,090.04 | -14.23 | -0.20 |