"We can see this rally extend for a little bit"
- Guy Stear, the head of Asia Pacific research at Societe Generale SA
Japanese index of leading economic indicators fell for a fourth consecutive month in July, data released by the Cabinet Office showed on Friday. The leading index, which measures the direction of the economy in the months ahead, fell to 91.8 in July, down from 93.2 in the preceding month. Economists had expected a decline to 91.6.
"We can see this rally extend for a little bit," Guy Stear, the head of Asia Pacific research at Societe Generale SA in Hong Kong, said on Friday.
"The fact that the ECB wants to absorb more risk and the fact that they managed to get it done despite the Bundesbank opposition -- all that in the short term is positive. In the short term Asian stocks are going to do better."
Stocks closed mixed on Monday. The Nikkei 225 stock average erased 0.03 per cent, or 2.28 points, to 8,869.37. The broader Topix index gained 0.30 per cent, or 2.17, to 737.34.
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