Asian stocks were broadly higher

Asian stocks were broadly higher on Monday, after Ireland requested a bailout, boosting risk appetite, while Japanese exporters gained as the yen weakened against the dollar.

During late Asian trade, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was down 0.04%, South Korea's Kospi Composite gained 0.17%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index climbed 0.93%.

Shares in the commodity sector performed strongly, as crude oil and metal prices rebounded. Japan’s biggest oil exporter Inpex saw shares jump 3.59%, shares in the country’s biggest gold producer Sumitomo Metal Mining rallied 2.48%, while shares in Japan’s largest commodity broker Mitsui & Company climbed 1.59%.

Elsewhere, shares in many of the big name Japanese exporters gained as the yen weakened after Ireland accepted a rescue package, easing fears over euro zone sovereign debt contagion.

Shares in the world’s largest automaker Toyota gained 1.07%, shares in the world’s largest camera maker Canon added 1.00%, while shares in electronics maker Kyocera, which gets approximately 20% of its revenue from Europe, jumped 2.39%.

Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, property developers led declines after the Hong Kong government introduced monetary policy tightening measures intended to cool property inflation.

Shares in the nation’s largest property developer Sino Land Company plunged 6.25%, Sun Hung Kai Properties saw shares tumble 3.50%, while shares in the nation’s third-largest land developer Henderson Land Development fell 2.95%.

The outlook for European equity markets, meanwhile, was upbeat. The EURO STOXX 50 futures pointed to a gain of 0.65%, France’s CAC 40 futures indicated an increase of 0.70%, the FTSE 100 futures pointed to a gain of 0.53% and Germany's DAX futures were up 0.51%.

Later in the day, the euro zone was to produce data on consumer confidence, while European Central Bank President, Jean-Claude Trichet was to speak at the European Parliament.

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