Most Asian shares power ahead; Japan still cautious despite good Q3 news

Tokyo ended 0.21 percent higher, with sentiment hit by fears of a wave of new share issues.

Other markets saw multi-month highs as the dollar's continued decline boosted investor risk appetites.

Sydney gained 1.04 percent as a new record gold price pushed mining shares higher. Gold hit an all-time high of 1,131.00-1,132.00 dollars per ounce in Asian trade Monday.

Hong Kong posted its highest close in more than 15 months after shares rose 1.73 percent.

Shanghai hit a three-month high after closing 2.74 percent higher as U.S. President Barack Obama's first visit to China got underway.

Asian markets took their cue from Wall Street which was lifted 0.72 percent Friday by strong corporate news and data showing a rise in global trade flows, helping Wall Street cap a second straight week of solid gains.

TOKYO: Up 0.21 percent. The Nikkei-225 index edged up 20.87 points to 9,791.18. Shortly before the start of trade, the government reported that Japan's economy grew at a 1.2 percent quarter-on-quarter pace in July-September -- about twice as fast as expected. “The market is more concerned about whether this recovery is sustainable,” Meiwa Securities analyst Masayoshi Yano told Dow Jones Newswires.

HONG KONG: Up 1.73 percent. The benchmark Hang Seng Index gained 390.35 points to 22,943.98, its highest since July last year. Financial companies lead the gains on renewed talk of a possible yuan appreciation during President Obama's visit to China. Strong inflows of capital led the Hong Kong Monetary Authority to sell a total of 3.1 billion Hong Kong dollars in the foreign-exchange market on Monday to defend the local currency's peg to the U.S. dollar.

SYDNEY: Up 1.04 percent. The S&P/ASX 200 advanced 48.8 points to 4,755.2.

SHANGHAI: Up 2.74 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index, which covers both A and B shares, was up 87.40 points to close at about a three-month high of 3,275.05.

SEOUL: Up 1.30 percent. The KOSPI rose 20.48 points to 1,592.47. A continued rise in the Baltic Dry Index of raw material shipping rates continued to boost shares of bulk shipping firms. STX Pan Ocean jumped 7.6 percent to 12,100 won.

SINGAPORE: Up 2.08 percent. The Straits Times Index rose 56.62 points to 2,783.85, a 15-month high.

BANGKOK: Up 1.21 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand composite index gained 8.42 points to close at 706.75.

KUALA LUMPUR: Up 0.58 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index added 7.35 points to close at 1,278.31.

JAKARTA: Up 1.73 percent. The Jakarta Composite Index gained 41.87 points to 2,468.67.

MANILA: Down 0.76 percent. The composite index fell 22.96 points to close at 3,011.36.

WELLINGTON: Up 0.50 percent. The NZX-50 index rose 15.82 points to 3,173.97

MUMBAI: Up 1.09 percent. The 30-share Sensex index jumped 183.68 points to 17,032.51.

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