Seoul Politics, Beijing Outlook Roil Asian Stock Markets

Asian stock markets were choppy on Monday, amid rising hopes for more economic stimulus from Beijing but ongoing government and political turmoil in Seoul.

Hong Kong rallied, Tokyo edged up and Shanghai finished flat, while Seoul's KOSPI index declined 2.8% after media reports that certain government officials may impose an overseas travel ban on President Yoon Suk Yeol, after the president last week briefly declared martial law.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened higher, zig-zagged, but finished up 0.2% as traders waded into tech issues after Friday gains on the US Nasdaq and peer tech stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 69.33 to 39,160.50, as gaining issues outnumbered losers 124 to 96.

Leading the upside was online retailer Rakuten, up 6.7%, while online fashion retailer ZOZO lost 5%.

In economic news, Japan's Economy Watcher's Survey Index, a tab of service workers such as cab drivers, restaurant staff and retail employees, rose to a seasonally adjusted 49.4 in November from 47.5 in October, reported the Cabinet Office on Monday. Readings above 50 point to optimism, while below signals pessimism.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index opened evenly but staged a late session rally, after media reports of a pending boost in macroeconomic stimulus from Beijing.

"Buying accelerated in the final hour of trading (Monday) after a readout from a December Politburo meeting chaired by President Xi Jinping said that China would adopt more proactive fiscal policies and 'moderately loose' monetary policies next year to boost domestic demand," reported the South China Morning Post.

The broad gauge Hang Seng rose 548.24 to 20,414.09, as gaining issues outnumbered losers 81 to one. The Hang Seng TECH Index gained 4.3% on the day, while the Mainland Properties Index rose 4.2%.

Leading the upside was Wuxi AppTec, gaining 9.6%, while bank HSBC declined 0.3%.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite was steady, closing at 3,402.53.

In economic news, mainland China's consumer price index, or CPI, rose a modest 0.2% year on year in November, but declined 0.6% from October, reported the National Bureau of Statistics.

China's producer price index, or PPI, fell 2.5% in November on year, although the index did gain 0.1% from October, added the NBS.

On the other regional exchanges, the Taiwan TWSE index added 0.3%; the Australian ASX 200 was steady; the Singapore Straits Times Index was flat and the Thai Set lost 0.3%. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was down 0.3%.