Asia stocks mostly up on Japan, China data, Hang Seng ends a.m. higher

Asian stocks mostly rose on Monday with the Hang Seng index ending the morning session up 0.12% as solid regional data pointed to growth prospects for the global economy.

The Nikkei rose 1.2% as showed a wider than expected surplus of JPY587.3 billion in October, marking an eighth straight month in the black on a weaker yen boosting earnings from abroad. The Nikkei tends to gain on a stronger dollar which boosts the earnings of exporters, but investors are also focusing on overall global economic health.

In Asia, a strong U.S. jobs report last week strengthened concerns that the Federal Reserve could start to roll back its USD85 billion bond-buying program by the end of the year, pushing the dollar generally higher in the region on Monday. 

However in the Philippines, where a super cyclone struck at the weekend possibly killing as many as 10,000 people, the PSE Composite lost 1.6%.

China at the weekend reported industrial production grew by 10.3% on-year in October and a key meeting of senior party leaders reviewing economic plans for the next decade continued. The scope for reforms in China is likely limited, but investors are watching for signals on a timetable for full convertibility of the yuan.

At the close of U.S. trade Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 0.98%, the S&P 500 index rose 1.34%, while the Nasdaq Composite index rose 1.60%.

After the close of European trade Friday, the EURO STOXX 50 fell 0.33%, France's CAC 40 fell 0.48%, while Germany's DAX 30 fell 0.03%. Meanwhile, in the U.K. the FTSE 100 finished up 0.17%.