Asia stocks gain on Italy progress; Nikkei up 1% on GDP data

Investing.com – Asian stock markets were broadly higher on Monday, as sentiment improved amid signs of political progress in Italy, while shares in Japan were boosted by better-than-expected Japanese economic data.

During late Asian trade, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index surged 2.3%, Australia’s ASX/200 Index gained 0.2%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index climbed 1.05%.

Italy's president appointed former European Commissioner Mario Monti on Sunday to head a new government, following the resignation of Silvio Berlusconi on Saturday.

Financial shares in Hong Kong traded higher on the news. Hong Kong-listed shares of Europe’s largest lender HSBC Holdings jumped 2.4%, China’s largest lender Industrial and Commercial Bank of China rose 1.7%, while China Construction Bank shares added 1.3%.

Property developers also contributed to gains, with Hong Kong’s third largest property developer Hang Lung Properties rising 1.95%, Henderson Land Development climbing 3.1%, while Sino Land Company shares rallied 6.5%.

Meanwhile, in Japan, preliminary data released earlier showed that the nation’s economy grew by 1.5% in the third quarter, broadly in line with expectations. The gain comes after three quarters of contraction, and indicates an annualized rate of growth of 6.0%.

Japanese lenders were broadly higher, with the nation’s largest lender Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group shares gaining 1.85%, while rivals Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group added 2.2%.

Japanese exporters performed strongly, amid easing concerns over the global economic outlook. Consumer electronics giant Sony saw shares rise 1.4%, while automakers Nissan and Toyota gained 2.1% and 1.2% respectively. 

Shares in scandal-hit Olympus rallied 17.4%, recouping a portion of last week’s 55% plunge amid reports Japan’s securities regulator may recommend Olympus pay a levy for making false financial statements to keep its shares from being delisted from the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

Meanwhile, the outlook for European stock markets was upbeat. The EURO STOXX 50 futures pointed to a gain of 0.45%, France’s CAC 40 futures added 0.5%, the FTSE 100 futures edged 0.35% higher, while Germany's DAX futures climbed 0.6%. 

Later in the day, Italy was to auction EUR3 billion of five-year government bonds, in what was being seen as a key test of investor confidence in Italian debt. The euro zone was also to publish official data on industrial production.