Investing.com - Asian shares gained on Monday as comments from a summit meeting of the world's leading economies called for more coordination and faster growth.
At the weekend China's President Xi Jinping urged G20 members to step up policy coordination in order to promote global growth and maintain financial stability.
Stocks in China gained led by the coal mining sector with the Shanghai Composite Index up 0.30%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 1.57%. The yuan was slightly higher Monday as the G20 summit in Hangzhou continued even though the People's Bank of China weakened the fixing at 6.6873, compared with a central parity of 6.6727 on Friday.
Earlier in Australia, the AIG services index slumped into contraction at 45.0 in August with a previous reading of 53.9. As well, the Caixin services PMI from China rose to 52.1, beating an expected 51.9 level and up from 51.7 the previous month. China is a top trading partner for Australia.
The S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.98%.
AI Group Chief Executive Innes Willox said the fall in services combined with the return to contraction of the manufacturing index sounds a sobering warning of the fragility of the economy. "The results demonstrate that business urgently needs confidence-building measures which drive productivity and reduce costs and barriers to growth. Now, more than ever, business needs all sides of politics to act together in the national interest."
Also in Australia, second quarter business inventories rose 0.3%, less than the 0.4% quarter-on-quarter gain seen and company gross operating profits jumped 6.9%, better than the expected increase of 2.0% quarter-on-quarter.
Japan reported average cash earnings gained 1.4%, beating the 0.5% increase expected year-on-year as some companies switch from lower-paid, part-time and contract workers to hiring more regular workers to deal with labor shortages.
The Nikkei 225 rose 1.27% after the data and remarks by Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda that further easing measures are possible.
Markets in the U.S. and Canada are shut on Monday for public holidays. Last week, U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Friday, as gains in the Utilities, Oil & Gas and Basic Materials sectors led shares higher.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.39%, while the S&P 500 index added 0.42%, and the NASDAQ Composite index climbed 0.43%.