Asian stock markets mostly rose Monday after expectations for an imminent phasing out of the Federal Reserve's monetary stimulus program began to fade, AP reported. Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.9 percent to 22,061.35. South Korea's Kospi advanced 1 percent to 1,888.25. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.3 percent to 5,136.40. Japan's Nikkei 225 index retreated by 0.3 percent to 13,625.84. Data released Friday that showed a drop in new home sales raised questions about the strength of the recovery in the U.S. housing market, a key piece of the overall economy. That led to speculation that the Fed might stick with its current monetary stimulus or only reduce it very gradually. The Fed has been mopping up government bonds and securities to the tune of $85 billion a month. That has held down long-term interest rates and made more money available for lending. Stocks on Wall Street finished higher Friday, driven by a jump in Microsoft shares after CEO Steve Ballmer announced his retirement. The Dow rose 0.3 percent to 15,010.51. The S&P 500 gained 0.4 percent to 1,663.50. The Nasdaq composite climbed 0.5 percent, to 3,657.79 Benchmark oil for October delivery was up 56 cents to $106.98 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract gained $1.39, or 1.4 percent, to close at $106.42 a barrel on the Nymex on Friday. The euro fell to $1.3382 from $1.3386 late Friday. The dollar fell to 98.56 yen from 98.71 yen.
