Asian stocks outside Australia advance

The sentiment on the Asian equity markets were largely mixed this Monday, with the region’s indices now flipping to gains, except for the Australian stocks.

The Asian markets kicked-off on a weaker footing, tracking dismal performance on the Wall Street last Friday, while increased odds for a Dec Fed rate hike following hawkish Fed speaks, pushed the USD index to fresh 8-month tops and also weighed on the markets’ sentiment.

The Chinese equities are now pushing higher amid continued Yuan weakness, while the Australian markets drop amid weaker oil prices and on increased cautiousness heading into the key Aus Q3 inflation report due later this week.

Meanwhile, Japan’s Nikkei 225 rises +0.22% to 17,221. The Australian S&P/ASX 200 loses -0.61% to 5,397. The Chinese equities rally, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite index up +0.88%, while CSI300 index jump +1%. Hong Kong markets gain +0.46% to trade around  23,480 levels.