Investing.com - Asian stock markets edged higher during late Asian trade on Monday, as market sentiment found mild support amid growing expectations China will increase efforts to boost its slowing economy.
During late Asian trade, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index eased up 0.1%, while Australia’s ASX/200 Index added 0.55%.
Japanese markets were closed for the Marine Day holiday.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao warned over the weekend that China's economy has not yet entered a recovery and "difficulties may continue for some time."
He added that that policy makers were likely to introduce measures to boost growth in the second half of the year, according to the state-run Xinhua News Agency.
The comments followed government data released Friday showing China’s second quarter economic growth slowed to 7.6% from a year earlier, compared to 8.1% in the first quarter.
While the number was not as bad as feared, China's economy expanded at the slowest rate since the first quarter of 2009, fuelling hopes that policy makers in Beijing will soon begin a fresh round of stimulus to boost growth.
A deeper slowdown in China would impair a global expansion that is already faltering because of the ongoing debt crisis in the euro zone.
Investors will now be focusing on testimony by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke later in the week, amid speculation over the possibility of more quantitative easing from the central bank.
On Tuesday, Bernanke testifies to the Senate Banking Committee and to the House Financial Services panel on Wednesday.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng swung between gains and losses for the most of the session, amid concerns over slowing corporate earnings.
Shares in telecommunications equipment maker ZTE Corporation plunged 16% after warning that its first half profit fell between 60% and 80% from a year earlier.
Elsewhere, shares in Australia were boosted by strong gains in coal maker Whitehaven Coal.
The company saw shares soar 17.7% after coal mining billionaire Nathan Tinkler offered AUD5.3 billion to take the company private.
Mining giants BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto advanced 0.7% and 0.5% respectively ahead of quarterly production reports due later this week.
Looking ahead, the outlook for European stock markets was mildly lower, as the lack of substantial progress in tackling the euro zone’s sovereign debt crisis continued to weigh on market sentiment.
The EURO STOXX 50 futures pointed to a loss of 0.3% at the open, France’s CAC 40 futures declined 0.15%, London’s FTSE 100 futures shed 0.2%, while Germany's DAX futures pointed to a drop of 0.25% at the open.
Later in the day, the euro zone was to produce official data on consumer price inflation.
The U.S. was to publish official data on retail sales and business inventories, as well as a report on manufacturing activity in New York.
During late Asian trade, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index eased up 0.1%, while Australia’s ASX/200 Index added 0.55%.
Japanese markets were closed for the Marine Day holiday.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao warned over the weekend that China's economy has not yet entered a recovery and "difficulties may continue for some time."
He added that that policy makers were likely to introduce measures to boost growth in the second half of the year, according to the state-run Xinhua News Agency.
The comments followed government data released Friday showing China’s second quarter economic growth slowed to 7.6% from a year earlier, compared to 8.1% in the first quarter.
While the number was not as bad as feared, China's economy expanded at the slowest rate since the first quarter of 2009, fuelling hopes that policy makers in Beijing will soon begin a fresh round of stimulus to boost growth.
A deeper slowdown in China would impair a global expansion that is already faltering because of the ongoing debt crisis in the euro zone.
Investors will now be focusing on testimony by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke later in the week, amid speculation over the possibility of more quantitative easing from the central bank.
On Tuesday, Bernanke testifies to the Senate Banking Committee and to the House Financial Services panel on Wednesday.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng swung between gains and losses for the most of the session, amid concerns over slowing corporate earnings.
Shares in telecommunications equipment maker ZTE Corporation plunged 16% after warning that its first half profit fell between 60% and 80% from a year earlier.
Elsewhere, shares in Australia were boosted by strong gains in coal maker Whitehaven Coal.
The company saw shares soar 17.7% after coal mining billionaire Nathan Tinkler offered AUD5.3 billion to take the company private.
Mining giants BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto advanced 0.7% and 0.5% respectively ahead of quarterly production reports due later this week.
Looking ahead, the outlook for European stock markets was mildly lower, as the lack of substantial progress in tackling the euro zone’s sovereign debt crisis continued to weigh on market sentiment.
The EURO STOXX 50 futures pointed to a loss of 0.3% at the open, France’s CAC 40 futures declined 0.15%, London’s FTSE 100 futures shed 0.2%, while Germany's DAX futures pointed to a drop of 0.25% at the open.
Later in the day, the euro zone was to produce official data on consumer price inflation.
The U.S. was to publish official data on retail sales and business inventories, as well as a report on manufacturing activity in New York.