Stock prices were mostly higher in Asia on Monday as investors awaited U.S. inflation figures and China’s latest economic data.A surge in oil prices has added to worries that inflation may not be waning as hoped in the U.S and other major economies. That could leadand other central banks to keep interest rates higher for longer, which would hurt prices for shares and other investments.
The Shanghai Composite index gained 0.6% to 3,133.85, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 1.4% to 17,940.08. The S&P 500 ticked up 0.1% to 4,457.49. It lost 1.3% for the week, which was shortened by the Labor Day holiday. Inflation has been generally cooling since peaking above 9% last summer, but the worry is the last bit of improvement to get to the Fed’s 2% inflation target may prove the most difficult.