Asian stocks were mostly lower Monday amid caution ahead of earnings announcements from large U.S. companies that could shed light on the state of the world's largest economy. European markets rose, according to AP. Global investors are eyeing third-quarter earnings announcements and forecasts for the coming quarters for signs the U.S. economy is on a sounder footing. After aluminum maker Alcoa Inc. kicked earnings season off with results that topped expectations, major banks like JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc. will be releasing their reports, as will Google Inc. and General Electric Co. «There was no exciting news on the market, so investors held a wait-and-see position,» said Zhang Qi, an analyst for Haitong Securities in Shanghai. In Europe, Britain's FTSE-100 rose 0.9 percent, Germany's DAX added 1.4 percent and France's CAC 40 gained 0.8 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng closed down 200.09 points, or 0.9 percent, at 21,299.35 and South Korea's Kospi dropped 0.4 percent to 1,639.81. Australia's benchmark index fell 0.3 percent, while China's Shanghai index slipped 0.6 percent at 2,894.48. Japan's stock market was closed for a holiday. Elsewhere, Singapore's index was up 0.9 percent after the government narrowed its forecast for economic contraction this year and said the economy grew for the second straight quarter in the July to September period. Wall Street finished a strong week on a high note Friday. The Dow rose 78.07, or 0.8 percent, to 9,864.94, its highest close since Oct. 6 last year. The S&P 500 index rose 6.01, or 0.6 percent, to 1,071.49, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 15.35, or 0.7 percent, to 2,139.28.
