Asian stocks mostly ended on a positive note Monday ahead of the Franco-German summit in Paris, which is aimed at halting contagion from Europe's growing debt crisis.

French President Nicholas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are scheduled to meet Monday night to try and get agreement on a joint plan on closer fiscal integration of the region, which will be presented at the Friday summit.

Meanwhile, some signs of progress emerged in Europe over the weekend after Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti unveiled a 30-billion euro package of austerity measures Sunday.

Stocks in Japan, Hong Kong and Seoul ended in the green while those in China and Singapore ended on a weak note.

Tokyo shares ended higher with benchmark Nikkei gaining 0.60 percent or 52.23 points to 8,695.98. Toyota Motor Corp. gained 2.6 percent and Elpida Memory surged 4 percent while Nomura Holdings advanced 2.74 percent.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index gained 123.51 points or 0.65 percent to 19,163.90 and Seoul composite advanced 6.86 points or 0.36 percent to 1,922.90.

Chinese shares ended lower after a purchasing managers' index for November dropped to 49.7 from 57.7 the previous month. Benchmark Shanghai composite declined 1.16 percent or 27.43 points to 2,333.23.

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