South Korea stocks lead gains in Asia markets; New Zealand inflation at 32-year high

South Korea stocks led gains in Asia- Pacific markets early on Monday as investors looked ahead to announcements later in the week.

Both the Kospi and the Kosdaq were up.

The S&P/ASX 200 increased in Australia.

A positive tone should be the order of the day in Asian trading in a week with little local macro content to focus on.

The Hang Seng index went up.

The markets in mainland China were not all bad. The Shenzhen Component was the only one to fall.

A positive tone should be the order of the day in Asian trading in a week with little macro content to focus on.

Vasu Menon, executive director of investment strategy at OCBC, said he sees more downside risk for volatile markets at the moment.

He told CNBC's "Squawk Box Asia" on Monday that sentiment can change very quickly if you see positive economic data.

Outside of Japan, the broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares rose.

The market was closed on Monday.

New Zealand's consumer price index rose 7.3% in the June 2022 quarter compared to the same period a year ago. The main reason for the high was rising prices for construction and rentals for housing, according to Statistics New Zealand.

Last week, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand raised interest rates to fight inflation. The New Zealand dollar increased in value.