After an October that saw massive losses across the region, November's first session saw most indexes making gains as bargain hunters moved in following a roller coaster week.

Hong Kong picked up 2.7 per cent as Chinese bank and property stocks reacted to new measures in Beijing to boost is slowing economy. Traders felt that the Chinese central bank's move to remove loan quotas would reap rewards.

The Hang Seng is now 34 per cent higher than the 10,676 point level it hit on October 27 - its lowest intraday mark in more than four years.

Sydney soared five per cent on the back of an expected interest rate cut at Tuesday's meeting of the central bank. Tokyo was closed for a public holiday.

Singapore also surged five per cent, while Seoul's KOSPI added 1.5 per cent after the government promised an extra 11 trillion won (S$12.5 billion dollars) in spending next year as well as tax cuts of three trillion won to boost sagging domestic demand.

Taiwan was 2.55 per cent higher on hopes that a historic bilateral meeting between Taipei and Beijing will improve further cross-Strait relations and yield more economically beneficial results.

The gains followed a rally in US and European shares last week that brought solid gains - the Dow Jones rose 1.57 per cent Friday - although not enough to compensate for the panicked global sell-off last month.

However, Shanghai was 0.52 per cent lower, despite the government's economy-boosting measures, after Premier Wen Jiabao said China would take a hit from the global crisis and that inflation remained a serious challenge.

'The global financial turmoil and the economic downturn are getting worse,' Mr Wen wrote in a signed article in Qiushi, a journal published by the Communist Party.

'Inflationary pressure remains large as the world oil price is still at a high level despite some corrections. All these negative factors have affected and will continue to affect China.'

Markets were also given a fillip after British Premier Gordon Brown said Sunday he expected Saudi Arabia to give more money to bolster the International Monetary Fund's ability to bail out nations hardest hit by the economic chaos.

The IMF has some US$400 billion (S$588 billion) available to help countries struggling to stay afloat - but Mr Brown wants to increase this by hundreds of billions of dollars.

India jumped 5.62 per cent after the central bank over the weekend unexpectedly cut its key lending rate by 50 basis points to spur growth, while Kuala Lumpur added more than four per cent on hopes for government moves to help the economy.

Elsewhere, Thailand surged 7.84 per cent as fears eased over the country's political future, while Jakarta added 7.6 per cent on hopes for an interest rate cut.

Manila added 3.8 per cent and Wellington was 1.27 per cent better off. -- AFP

KUALA LUMPUR
Malaysian share prices closed 4.1 per cent higher on Monday as investors awaited an expected economic plan to help the country through the global financial crisis, dealers said.

The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index was up 35.74 points to end the day at 899.35 on a volume of 982.14 million shares. Gainers led losers by 599 to 133 while 126 were unchanged, 476 untraded and 30 suspended.

Dealers said the confidence level in the local market was higher ahead of the government's announcement on Tuesday to introduce more measures under a financial stabilisation plan to encourage economic growth.

Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak is expected to make the announcement during the winding up of debate on the 2009 Budget in Parliament.

SHANGHAI
Chinese share prices closed down 0.52 per cent on Monday as concerns over a slowdown in the real economy and corporate earnings offset Beijing's latest effort to spur the economy, dealers said.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index, which covers A and B shares, closed down 9.01 points to 1,719.77 on turnover of 23.1 billion yuan (S$5 billion).

The Shanghai A-share index fell 9.52 points, or 0.52 per cent, to 1,806.79 on turnover of 23.1 billion yuan, while the Shenzhen A-share index shed 5.29 points, or 1.07 per cent, to 489.94 on turnover of 8.9 billion yuan.

HONG KONG
Hong Kong shares closed 2.7 per cent higher on Monday, led by property developers and HSBC, dealers said.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index was up 375.70 points to 14,344.37 on turnover worth 52.11 billion Hong Kong dollars (S$9.9 billion).

TOKYO
Japanese financial markets were closed on Monday due to a public holiday. The markets will reopen on Tuesday. -- AFP, BERNAMA