Hong Kong Leads Asian Rally, Malaysian Stocks Up

Hong Kong stocks surged on Monday, putting them on course to extend a rally to a sixth successive day, with investors tracking a strong lead from Wall Street.

The Hang Seng Index rose 1.3 percent, to 31,521 by the break.

On the mainland, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.6 percent, to 3,180 while the Shenzhen Composite Index was up 0.2 percent, at 1,828.

Most Asia markets rose as investors built on last week's rally, but oil prices retreated from their three-and-a-half-year highs.

Malaysia's ringgit sank almost 1 percent but stocks were up 0.5 percent in Kuala Lumpur as trading resumed after last week's general election that saw a shock win for 92-year-old former premier Mahathir Mohamad.

While analysts had expected a sharp drop in equities, they said Mahathir had soothed many concerns by giving key posts to people seen as market-friendly.

Tokyo ended the morning up 0.2 percent, with Fujifilm climbing more than 1 percent after US photocopier and printer maker Xerox pulled out of a US$6.1 billion merger deal. Analysts said the move was welcomed by traders who thought the deal was not good for Fujifilm.

Sydney climbed 0.3 percent and Wellington gained 0.2 percent while Taipei piled on 0.8 percent.

However, Seoul and Singapore were in negative territory. (AFP)

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