Asian markets rise, but China inflation looms

HONG KONG: Asian stock markets rose on Monday thanks partly to the easing of Egypt's political crisis, although there was caution about upcoming Chinese inflation data and oil prices remained high.

Tokyo's Nikkei gained 1.13 percent, or 119.89 points, to 10,725.54 despite data showing Japan's economy contracted 1.1 percent in the last quarter of 2010.

The data confirmed Japan had lost its 42-year spot as the world's number two economy to China.

The market partly responded to a modest gain on Wall Street on Friday, where optimism about US economic prospects was compounded by relief at the resignation of Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak after weeks of unrest.

"It appears that conditions in Egypt may calm down for now, but uncertainty over the broader Middle East will likely continue," Yutaka Miura, senior technical analyst at Mizuho Securities, told Dow Jones Newswires.

Sydney's S&P/ASX 200 ended 1.12 percent, or 54.9 points, higher at 4,935.8, its highest finish in 10 months.

Shanghai's Composite Index was up 2.04 percent in the afternoon after data showed exports and imports surged in January, while the trade surplus fell 53.5 percent to $6.45 billion, providing a boost to the country's growth prospects.

Exports increased 37.7 percent from a year earlier, while imports jumped 51 percent, the General Administration of Customs said.

However, investors have an eye on January inflation data due out Tuesday, with many nervously hoping the figure might fall short of five percent.

But reports by state media have said the figure is likely to exceed five percent, accelerating from the 4.6 percent increase in December.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng climbed 1.07 percent in the morning, led by property developers, although the rise was largely a rebound from a 4.5 percent fall by the market last week.

In the United States on Friday the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.36 percent, the broader S&P 500 index advanced 0.55 percent and the tech-rich Nasdaq rose 0.68 percent.(AFP)