Asian Stocks Make Modest Gains; China Slowdown Fears Persist

Asian stock markets ended with modest gains in lackluster trade Monday as concerns over the economic slowdown in China weighed on the sentiment.

The Japanese benchmark Nikkei advanced 0.07 percent or 6.77 points to 10,018.24, Chinese Shanghai Composite gained 0.05 percent to 2,350.60 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng edged up 0.05 percent or 10.11 points to 20,678.91, while South Korea's Seoul Composite slipped 0.38 percent.

Some goods and exports companies in Japan traded higher as yen declined against 15 of its 16 major counterparts. Nissan Motor gained 2.46 percent and Hitachi Ltd advanced 3.4 percent, while Kyocera Corp. and Panasonic Corp. gained more than 1 percent.

Chinese financial stock declined after a report showed that banks understated the risks associated with about 20 percent of their outstanding loans to local governments, Bloomberg reported.

Agricultural Bank of China declined 2.64 percent and Industrial & Commercial Bank of China fell 1.39 percent, while China Construction Bank Corp. fell 1.17 percent.

Chinese auto and battery maker BYD Co, Ltd. plunged 4.3 percent after announcing that its first quarter profit may plunge by between 65 percent and 95 percent.