Most Asian stock markets recover after last week's slump

Hong Kong: Most Asian stock markets recovered in early trading on Monday after days of low trading last week.

Benchmarks in Singapore, South Korea and New Zealand gained more than 1 per cent, while China and Taiwan stocks traded lower.

Singapore and the Philippines both saw shares rally, with Singapore stocks 1.75 per cent higher early on, while Philippine share prices rose 2.2 per cent at the opening.

Hong Kong share prices ended up at 3.2 per cent on Monday. Japan's market was closed for a public holiday.

The region's markets showed signs of life after European nations agreed on Sunday to temporarily guarantee bank refinancing and provide fresh capital to distressed banks.

It is part of coordinated, international efforts to deal with the global financial crisis.