Asian Stock Markets Brace for Key Economic Data and Mixed Trading Patterns

Asia-Pacific markets started the week mixed as investors awaited key economic data from China and India. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 1.3%, while mainland Chinese stocks rose 0.74%. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 snapped a four-day losing streak, rising 0.50%. Japan's Nikkei 225 was down 0.43%, and South Korea's Kospi climbed 0.33%. Meanwhile, shares of Alibaba dropped 3.5% after CEO Daniel Zhang unexpectedly stepped down from the company's cloud business. The Bank of Japan signaled a "quiet exit" from its ultra-dovish monetary policy, and bullish sentiment among individual investors in the US surged to 42%, according to a survey.