Asian stock markets on rise except for Hong Kong

By Serhat Tutak

ISTANBUL (AA) - While Asian stock markets followed an upward trend as the week began, Hong Kong's blue-chip stocks benchmark, the Hang Seng index, diverged on a negative path on Monday.

Global equity markets started the week with mixed movements as central banks in the US, UK, and Europe are set to announce interest rate decisions.

Risk appetites in Asian equity markets started recovering as expectations rose that the Chinese government would take steps to stimulate the country's economy to stave off fears of declining activity.

Consumer inflation in China fell by 0.5% on a monthly and annual basis in November, falling below expectations, according to figures released over the weekend.

Analysts have noted that the slowing inflation in China is an indicator of the gradually weakening domestic demand in the country.

On Monday, the Kospi index in South Korea increased 0.28% to 2,525 points, while the Shanghai composite index in China climbed 0.7% to reach 2,990 points.

While the Nikkei 225 index in Japan completed the day at 32,791 points with an increase of 1.5%, a US dollar traded for about 145.5 Japanese yen as the rate of exchange increased by 0.4%.

In India, the Sensex index gained 0.1% for a reading of 69,900 points, while the Hang Seng slipped 0.6% to 16,240 points.

*Writing by Emir Yildirim