Chinese stocks fell Monday after a weak manufacturing report while Japan extended gains following its central bank's introduction of a negative interest rate policy to boost lending by banks. Other markets were mixed.

Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 1.8 per cent to 17,833.53 and South Korea's Kospi added 0.3 per cent to 1,918.22. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.6 per cent to 19,557.75 and the Shanghai Composite in mainland China lost 1.7 per cent to 2,689.89. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.8 per cent to 5,047.40. Stocks in Taiwan and Southeast Asia were lower.

US stock markets posted their biggest gains in about five months on Friday though ended January with losses. The Dow Jones industrial average surged 2.5 per cent to 16,466.30. The Standard & Poor's 500 rose 2.5 per cent to 1,940.24. The Nasdaq composite index jumped 2.4 per cent to 4,613.95.

Benchmark US oil was down 70 cents to $32.92 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It finished Friday at $33.62 a barrel, up 40 cents, or 1.2 per cent. Brent crude, a benchmark for international oils, fell 73 cents to $35.26 a barrel in London.

The dollar rose to 121.20 yen from 121.12 yen on Friday. The euro strengthened to $1.0853 from $1.0831, according to AP.

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Source: The Financial Express