Asian Markets Rise Amid US Budget Agreement Expectation

Most of the Asian markets rose Monday as investor sentiment turned positive amid hopes that the U.S. congressional leaders will come to an agreement with President Barack Obama in taking the measures to overcome the lingering fiscal cliff.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average was up 1.53 percent or 138.29 points to 9162.45. Among the major gainers were Japan Tobacco Inc (6.94 percent), Canon Inc (3.67 percent) and Dentsu Inc (3.54 percent).

China’s Shanghai Composite fell 0.26 percent or 5.25 points to 2009.47. Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.41 percent or 85.93 points to 21244.94. Among the major gainers were COSCO Pacific Ltd (3.16 percent) and Sino Land Co Ltd (1.22 percent).

South Korea’s KOSPI Composite Index was up 1.16 percent or 21.58 points to 1882.41. Shares of Samsung Electronics Co Ltd rose 2.52 percent and those of Hyundai Motor Co fell 0.23 percent.

India's BSE Sensex marginally rose 0.07 percent or 13.68 points to 18323.05. Among the major gainers were Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (3.04 percent), Bharti Airtel Ltd (2.34 percent) and Infosys Ltd (0.95 percent).

The market was lifted with the hopes that the US Congress will soon finalize on the budget agreement, which will include spending cuts and additional taxes, required to overcome the fiscal cliff . “On the U.S. fiscal cliff, there is hope that the White House and the Republicans may find common ground and avoid the political brinksmanship that led America to lose one of its triple-A debt rating in August 2011. President Barack Obama may yet get an agreement from the Republicans to extend tax cut for most Americans except the top income earners,” DBS Bank Ltd said in a note.

Investors hope that the newly announced leaders in China will soon take measures to transform the country’s economy from an investment-led model to one driven by domestic demand. Market players feel that China will be the bright spot amongst the world's largest economies which help revive the global economy.

Investors are also expecting that the Liberal Democratic Party will return to power in Japan and its leader Shinzo Abe will push the central bank for more aggressive monetary policies.