By Gina Lee

Investing.com – Asia Pacific stocks were mostly up on Monday morning, with investors digesting the from China and what further steps the country will take to spur economic growth.

China’s was up 0.29% by 9:28 PM ET (2:28 AM GMT) and the rose 0.77%. Data earlier that day revealed that GDP rose 4% and 1.6% respectively in the fourth trimester. The GDP grew by 4.3% and 1.7% respectively in the fourth quarter, while it was 5.1%.

Hong Kong’s fell 0.75%.

Japan’s gained 0.69%, with the handing down its policy decision on Tuesday.

South Korea’s slid 1.12% while in Australia, the edged up 0.15%.

Monday is a holiday in the United States. The stock and bond markets will be closed.

China still struggles with power shortages and a downturn in real estate, as well as the recent COVID-19 attacks. 

After a drop in U.S. Treasuries last week, bond yields rose in Australia and New Zealand. However, the U.S. benchmark yield of 10 years is now back at pre-COVID-19 levels.

China’s outlook, tighter U.S. Federal Reserve monetary policy, and the omicron COVID-19 variant are all coloring investor sentiment. The Fed should raise its interest rate by a bigger-than-expected 50 basis points in March 2022 to “restore its credibility”, according to investor Bill Ackman.

Investors also look to earnings season for signs that profits might slow the retreat in global equity, partially due to a decline in U.S. tech shares.

“Given the record inflation backdrop and historically tight labor market, investor focus is on margins; demonstrating pricing power, passing on rising costs to the customer,” Evercore ISI chief equity and quantitative strategist Julian Emanuel said in a note.

Axel P. Lehmann, meanwhile, was appointed chairman Credit Suisse Group AG (SIX). Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE:), Morgan Stanley (NYSE :), Bank of America Corp. Unitedhealth Group Inc . (SA:), as well as Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ) were among those publishing earnings this week.

Data from the U.S. are released on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively. The data is followed by one day later.

The nations that will be making interest rate determinations on Thursday are Indonesia, Malaysia and Turkey.