ASIA MARKETS: Asia Stocks: Australia Rises; South Korea Lower

By Daniel Inman

An improving service sector in China, along with strong local retail sales helped Australian stocks move higher early Monday, while South Korean stocks started the week lower.

There were signs of growth in China's services sector, as the official Non-Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 56.3 in October, according to data released over the weekend. The measure came out much higher than the 50 mark that separates expansion from contraction and was the highest reading in 14 months.

The data provided support to the Australian dollar (AUDUSD) early on Monday, and the currency received a further boost after local retail sales rose much more than expected in September. The so-called Aussie was at 94.82 U.S. cents, compared to 94.39 U.S. cents late Friday in New York.

The next event for the currency will be the Reserve Bank of Australia's meeting on Tuesday. A dovish speech given last week by Glenn Stevens, the central bank's governor, raised expectations that interest rates could be cut again.

Australian stocks were also helped by the retail sales data, with the S&P/ASX 200 adding 0.3%.

South Korea's Kospi , however, dropped 0.7%.

In Japan, where stock markets stopped trading Monday for a public holiday, the yen (USDJPY) was steady at Yen98.70 to the dollar.

Earnings season continued in Australia, with Westpac Banking Corp. (WBK) up just 0.1% after the country's second-largest bank by market value reported a fiscal-year profit that beat expectations, as well as issuing a special dividend, though this was offset by a pre-prevision operating profit that undershot forecasts.

Also in Sydney, Coca-Cola Amatil (CCLAF) dropped 4.2% after warning that its fiscal-year earnings before interest and tax would be down between 5% and 7%.

The main earnings announcement for the region on Monday will likely be HSBC Holdings (HBC). The largest constituent on Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index is scheduled to announce its latest earnings after the market closes.

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