MOF press conference; Chinese CPI, PPI; Chinese trade data

Asia-Pacific markets traded higher on Monday as investors assessed China’s press conference over the weekend and expected a slew of economic data from the region this week.

Mainland China’s CSI 300 rose 1.3%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 1.47%.

The Hang Seng Mainland Properties Index rose about 2%, while the Hang Seng Tech Index fell 3.48%.

Chinese Finance Minister Lan Fo’an hinted at more debt issuance in a much-anticipated news conference on Saturday amid efforts to support the economy, saying the government has “reasonably large” room to widen the deficit.

Deflationary pressures in China increased in September, with consumer prices rising at the slowest pace in three months, down 0.4% from a year earlier, while the producer price index fell at the fastest pace in six months, down 2. 8%. Both measures missed the expectations of economists polled by Reuters, who estimated the CPI would rise 0.6% and the PPI would fall 2.5%.

China will release its September trade data on Monday, with exports expected to rise 6%, down from 8.7% in August, while imports are estimated to grow 0.9%, up from 0.5% in August.

China watchers are also looking ahead to the week with a busy set of economic data, including China’s third-quarter GDP, September industrial production growth, retail sales and the unemployment rate.

The Japanese market was closed for a holiday.

Australia S&P/ASX200 started the day with an increase of 0.27%.

South Korea’s blue chip Kospi gained 0.63%, while the small-cap Kosdaq index fell 0.43%.

In the United States, stock futures were little changed in overnight trading on Sunday as investors awaited assessments of an upcoming set of major corporate earnings.

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average traded near the flatline. Futures on the S&P 500 index were flat, while futures on the Nasdaq-100 fell 0.1%.

— CNBC’s Yun Li contributed to this report.