Asia: Stocks up following Japanese comeback from recession

Asian stocks started the week higher driven by news that Japanese economy pulled out of recession during the last quarter of 2014.

Nikkei 225 was up 0.51% after the country's gross domestic product (GDP) grew 2.2% year-on-year in the three months to December from -2.3% in the previous quarter. However, the comeback was weaker than forecasts of a 3.7% expansion rate.

Danske Bank analyst said: "We do not expect the GDP number to have any impact on the Bank of Japan (BoJ) in connection with its meeting on Wednesday.

"For the BoJ, it will be enough that the economy is now recovering and we do not expect it to announce any new easing measures following the meeting."

Chinese stocks were also higher with Shanghai's main index up 0.58% following a significant increase in foreign investment by 29.4% year-on-year to $13.9bn in January.

The data offsets the biggest drop in margin debt in three years.

Capital Economics analysts said on Monday: "The slide in inflation in China, as elsewhere, has been driven primarily by commodity price falls due to increases in global supply. It is unambiguously positive for China’s economy. Evidence that domestic oversupply has contributed to the latest price declines is not convincing."

Hong Kong's Hang Seng also rose 0.18% despite despite internal warnings from the State Administration for Foreign Exchange about Chinese capital outflows.

Furthermore, Australia's ASX rose 0.19% after finishing on Friday at the highest level since 2008.

Brent crude dropped 0.96% to $60.93 per barrel in morning trade, according to the ICE, after a strong start as the oversupply of oil continues to weigh on the market.