Frankfurt  - After a strong start to the year, German economic growth has lost momentum in recent months, the nation's central bank said in its monthly report released Monday.

While the Bundesbank stepped back from predicting a second-quarter growth rate, the Frankfurt-based bank said it expected a slumping building sector as well as weak private consumption and a fall in exports to have undercut the performance of Europe's biggest economy.

Bangkok - Thai shares jumped 3.4 per cent on Monday, propped up by growing confidence in the economy after a reduction in oil prices.

The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) index ended at 687.30, up 22.78 points, or 3.43 per cent, on 14.5 billion baht (433 million dollars) worth of trading.

"Investors came back to the market to snap up shares cheap, but this is not necessarily a sign that the market is on the rebound for the long term," said Mongkol Puanghaetha, an analyst at Adkinson Securities.

He noted that the volume of trade was low, at only 14.5 billion baht, suggesting that many investors have take a wait-and-see stance after the sharp slump in share values last week.

Hong Kong  - Banking stocks led a resurgence in share prices Monday after the benchmark Hang Seng index in Hong Kong rose 3.1 per cent to post its largest single-day gain since early April. The index closed 658.7 points up at 22,532.9, the highest level since June 25.

HSBC Holdings led the charge, closing 4 per cent up at 124.80 Hong Kong dollars (16 dollars). This followed reports the bank has held talks with a Chinese state-controlled investment fund about a possible investment deal.

The Bank of East Asia rose 3.04 per cent to end the day at 37.40 Hong Kong dollars.

Property stocks also made significant gains after government figures showed the number of homes on the market fell to a record low in the first half of this year.

Seoul - Shares rallied Monday on the Seoul stock exchange as lower oil prices prompted investors to hunt for bargains after recent losses. 

Taipei -

The 30-share BSE Sensex continued its positive journey on the back of heavy buying activity witnessed across board.

BSE Midcap gained 0.08%, while Smallcap fell 0.29%.

At 12:00 noon, the BSE Sensex stood at 13,816.21, up 180.81 points, whereas the broad-based NSE Nifty gained  49.15 points to trade at 4,141.40.

All sectoral indices were trading positively excluding BSE Consumer Goods and Consumer Durables.

The market breadth was positive as it experienced 961 progressions as against 1,181 declinations.