Asian Stocks Rise After China Pledges To Boost Growth

Asian stock markets rebounded Monday after suffering heavy losses last week amid ongoing worries over the euro zone crisis.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei gained 0.26 percent or 22.58 points to 8,633.89, South Korea's KOSPI advanced 0.94 percent or 16.67 points to 1,799.13 and Indian benchmark BSE Sensex and Chinese Shanghai gained 0.19 percent and 0.16 percent respectively while Hong Kong's Hang Seng declined 0.16 percent, weighed down by declines from HSBC Holdings.

Markets recovered from their biggest fall in six months after Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao had said that the country would focus more on maintaining the growth and leaders of G8 countries had pledged to spark growth. But the gains were limited as investors remained cautious over political developments in Europe.

Premier Wen's speech is a signal that future policies will emphasize growth. It could be a change in fiscal, monetary or tax-related policies but for sure, the government is now eyeing the economy, Mao Sheng, analyst at Huaxi Securities Co, told Bloomberg.

Meanwhile, leaders of the most industrialized nations prioritized supporting growth and creating jobs over fiscal austerity at the G8 summit in the last weekend. The leaders clearly recognized the risk posed by the threat of a Greek exit from the euro zone and confirmed their interest in Greece remaining in the euro zone.

However, analysts at DBS said that the statement was long on promises and short on details on the necessary steps to strengthen and reinvigorate their economies and combat financial stresses.

Exporter companies' shares gained in Tokyo as the yen eased slightly against major counterparts. Sony Corp. gained 0.73 percent and Canon advanced 0.15 percent while NEC Corp. gained 1.69 percent.

Fanuc Corp. advanced 1.48 percent after Nikkei news reported that the company would boost production capacity by 30 percent.

In Seoul, technology and automaker shares led the rally. Samsung Electronics surged 3.69 percent and Hyundai Motor Co. gained 3.49 percent while Kia Motors rose 3.82 percent.

Chinese rail maker shares rallied on report that the industry would open to private investment. CSR Corp. surged 4.98 percent in Hong Kong and China CNR Corp gained 2.4 percent in Shanghai.