China stocks hit 7-month highs, Nikkei drops on poor GDP

The Asian equity markets out Japan edged higher on Monday, mainly driven by a sharp rally in the Chinese stocks on the back of renewed hopes of further easing by China’s central bank in a bid to revive growth.

Moreover, higher oil prices further added to the upbeat momentum seen around the Asian indices. However, the Japanese markets bucked the trend and traded in the negative territory as poor Japanese growth numbers weigh on the investors ‘minds. Japan's preliminary real Q2 2016 GDP data came at 0% q/q vs 0.2% expected based on Reuters poll.

The Japanese benchmark index, the Nikkei 225 drops -0.27% to 16,868. The Australian markets defend mild gains, with the S&P/ASX 200 now trading +0.17% at 5,540 points.

The Chinese equities trade at seven-month tops, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite index up +1.50% near 3100 mark; the CSI300 index rockets +0.2.44%. While Hong Kong markets gain +0.85% to 22,960 levels.