HONG KONG (Reuters) - Asian stocks edged up for a seventh day on Monday, building on last week's solid gains, as investors took heart from aggressive central bank efforts to revive economic growth even as incoming data were grim.
Higher-yielding currencies such as the Australian dollar fell before the expected rate cuts this week, while oil prices shed more than a $1 after cartel OPEC delayed a third supply cut to later in the month.
Major central banks from Australia to Europe are expected to slash interest rates further this week in a string of policy meetings, marking the latest chapter in official efforts to limit the economic fallout from the 15-month financial crisis.
Stocks around the world recovered last week after the U.S. government rescued banking giant Citigroup (C.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the Federal Reserve said it would buy up to $800 billion debt to help households access credit and China slashed rates.
Portfolio managers are grappling with whether the sell-off across equity markets has adequately anticipated the drop in corporate profits from the sharp economic downturn, or whether a further slide is in the offing.
"The market is still tentative because of potential profit downgrades and bad economic news will probably outweigh for a while," said Hans Kunnen, head of investment market research at Colonial First State Investments in Sydney.
The MSCI index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS inched up 0.3 percent and has rebounded 18 percent from a five-year low hit last month. But for the year, the index is still down 57 percent.
Japan's Nikkei average .N225 bucked the trend, falling 1.4 percent as some investors booked profits. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dropped 1 percent.
Trading activity was subdued as U.S. investors gradually returned to their desks following the Thanksgiving holiday.
Among the bleak economic news on Monday, South Korean exports plunged 18.3 percent in November from a year earlier, the sharpest fall in seven years.
A gauge of manufacturing activity in China showed the sharpest monthly contraction in its 4-1/2-year history on plunging new orders for export goods.
Market players are looking ahead to a batch of closely watched figures in the United States this week, with the Institute for Supply Management's factory index expected to show activity shrinking at the fastest pace since the early 1980s.
But in a positive sign for stocks, investors have started shifting funds into Asian equities. Data from EPFR Global showed Asian ex-Japan stocks posted a second straight week of fund inflows in the week ending last Wednesday.
Those inflows may help buoy beleaguered Asian currencies. The South Korean won edged up slightly to 1,463.9 despite the downbeat trade figures.
The yen edged up as investors trimmed higher-yielding currencies. The dollar dipped 0.2 percent to 95.30 yen, while the Australian dollar shed 1 percent to $0.6484 and 0.9 percent to 61.77 yen.
Safe-haven government bonds slipped on the gains in most stock indexes.
The 10-year Japanese government bond yield rose half a basis point to 1.395 percent, while short-term yields fell on expectations the Bank of Japan would undertake more measures to help the battered money market.
