ASIA MARKETS: Australia Stocks Advance; Hong Kong Volatile

By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch

LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Australian stocks rose Monday, with financial issues helping lead the advance, while Hong Kong stocks swung between modest losses and gains at the start of a holiday-shortened week.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.4%, on track for its fifth win in six sessions, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.1%. South Korea's Kospi was down 0.2%.

Trading was closed in Japan and mainland China for national holidays.

Australian stocks gained 3.4% last week, though the market turned lower Friday to end down by 0.1%.

Rivkin global analyst Tim Radford wrote to clients that investors on Monday would likely "use the pause as an opportunity to accumulate high-yielding stocks," ahead of key financial results from Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. (ANEWF) and Westpac Banking Corp. (WBK), due Tuesday and Friday, respectively.

"Better-than-expected company results and a rate-cut by the [European Central Bank on] Thursday night [Australian time] could provide the momentum needed to push the ASX 200 to new 52-week highs this week," said Radford.

On Monday, shares of ANZ climbed 0.8%, while Westpac rose 1.3%.

Also in the financial sector, which accounts for about 45% of the ASX 200 index's weighting, shares of Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBAUY) rose 0.6%, and National Australia Bank Ltd. (NAUBF) moved up 1.3%.

But mining shares traded lower in part as prices for some metals declined Friday. May copper (HGK3) fell 1.6% after data showed the U.S. economy grew by a less-than-expected 2.5% in the first quarter. Gold and silver futures also lost ground.

In Sydney on Monday, gold producer Newcrest Mining Ltd. shed 0.4%, and Rio Tinto Ltd. (RIO) fell 1.1%.

A 14% slide put shares of Kingsgate Consolidated Ltd. (KCN.AU) in the spotlight, with the stock hit hard after the gold producer said it's reviewing spending plans in the wake of the decline in gold prices.

Kingsgate also said it expects output in the fiscal year through June to come in at the lower end of its previous forecast of between 200,000 and 220,000 ounces.

In other sector news, a subsidiary of BHP Billiton Ltd. has agreed to sell its Pinto Valley copper-mining operation in Arizona to Capstone Mining Corp. . Shares of BHP Billiton (BHP) were off 0.5%.

In Hong Kong, market heavyweight HSBC Holdings PLC (HBC) tacked on 0.8%, adding to last week's rise of 2.8%, while China Construction Bank Corp. (CICHY) rose 1.1%. But shares of Agricultural Bank of China Ltd. (ACGBF) pulled lower by 1.4%.

China Eastern Airlines (CEA) also struggled, with its stock down 3.4% following the carrier's announcement Friday that it lost 132.4 million yuan ($21.5 million) in the first quarter.

However, Chinese telecom major ZTE Corp. (ZTCOF) surged 4% following its first-quarter results, released Friday.

Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires