Most major Asian indexes climbed on Monday as investors digested the release of China inflation data. Japan's Nikkei 225 climbed for a ninth straight day, with investors looking to extend gains after the benchmark index touched a fresh 21-year high in the last session. The index was up 0.65 percent. Ahead, politics will be in focus for Japanese markets as the country gears up for lower house election at the end of the week. Across the Korean Strait, the Kospi gained 0.11 percent as steelmakers and cosmetics retailers notched gains: Posco jumped 5.69 percent, Hyundai Steel was up 2.75 percent and Amorepacific soared 4.61 percent. Tech stocks were mixed, with SK Hynix falling 3.48 percent, but LG Electronics climbing 1.02 percent. Down Under, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.55 percent, with the materials sub-index rising 1.51 percent and leading gains. Major miners surged: Rio Tinto was up 3.25 percent, Fortescue Metals climbed 1.33 percent and BHP jumped 2.2 percent. Elsewhere, China is likely to be in the spotlight this week as the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party China kicks off on on Oct. 18. Mainland markets were mixed: The Shanghai Composite reversed gains to edge down 0.11 percent and the Shenzhen Composite slid 0.885 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index, meanwhile, soared 0.85 percent. Investors in the region also digested inflation data out of the world's second-largest economy: China's consumer price index rose 1.6 percent in September from a year ago, meeting expectations. The producer price index rose 6.9 percent in the same period — well above the 6.3 percent forecast in a Reuters poll. U.S. September consumer prices released Friday were softer than expected. Still, although the headline 0.5 percent increase was below the 0.6 percent predicted in a Reuters poll, the rise in prices was the largest monthly increase in eight months. Despite the weaker-than-expected number, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen appeared positive on the inflation outlook in the months ahead in a Sunday speech, Reuters said. Yellen indicated that inflation was likely to improve despite the unexpectedly low levels seen this year. "[W]hile the Fed may well get one more hike in December, if goods inflation fails to show up next year, there might not be too many more in a hurry," Joanne Masters, senior economist at ANZ, said in a note. The dollar recouped losses after initially sliding following the lackluster data release. The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six currencies, stood at 93.146 by 12:37 p.m. HK/SIN, above a low of 92.749 seen on Friday. Against the Japanese currency, the dollar edged up to fetch 111.93 yen. Meanwhile, stocks on Wall Street touched record levels on Friday as earnings season rolled on. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.13 percent, or 30.71 points, to close at 22,871.72. Elsewhere, the euro was a touch softer after Austria's Sebastian Kurz declared his People's Party had won the Austrian national election. Political developments in Spain were also in the spotlight as markets awaited clarification from Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont over the region's independence following last week's referendum. The common currency traded at $1.1803 at 12:41 p.m. HK/SIN — off a low of $1.1796 touched earlier in the day. In individual stocks, SoftBank Group was up 1.44 percent. The spike in share price came after news that T-Mobile and SoftBank-controlled Sprint intended to announce a merger, according to Reuters. That followed a report from Nikkei Asian Review during the weekend that SoftBank had "reached a broad agreement" about the deal. Over in South Korea, Samsung Electronics were flat after the company announced Friday that it was expecting record profit for the third quarter. Other tech stocks in the market were mixed: LG Electronics rose 0.9 percent, LG Display added 2.24 percent and Samsung SDI fell 6.71 percent. Oil built on Friday's gains following news that Iraqi forces had captured parts of Kirkuk, a Kurdish-controlled oil-rich province, Reuters said, citing local media. The Iran nuclear deal was also in focus after President Donald Trump's decision not to certify that Tehran was in compliance with obligations that were part of the agreement. Global benchmark Brent crude spiked 1.12 percent to trade at $57.81 a barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate advanced 0.84 percent to $51.88. Source: CNBC
