The broad rally in China's stock market extended further on Monday, even in spite of weak economic data. The juxtaposition raised questions about whether Beijing should risk stepping in with looser policy, as it could add more fuel to the market euphoria.
Asia-Pacific markets were largely upbeat thanks to an exceptionally strong US payrolls report on Friday, which pushed the Japanese yen to a seven year low and the Australian dollar to a four-and-half-year low. The Hang Seng rose 0.4 per cent, Sydney's S&P/ASX 200 rose 1 per cent, and Tokyo's Nikkei 225 crosses 18,000 for the first time since July 2007 before paring back.
But the focus was again on China's market, where a major bull rally continued to plow ahead.