HONG KONG: Asian markets were mostly up on Monday despite Japan posting lower-than-expected economic growth and off the back of US stocks retreating from record peaks last week. Tokyo stocks were flat by the break adding a negligible 0.10 points to 13,615.29, while Sydney rose 0.64 percent and Seoul was up 0.39 percent. Hong Kong led the gains jumping 1.64 percent while Shanghai also rose 1.21 percent, buoyed by positive economic data out of China late last week. On Friday, China reported industrial growth for July reached a five-month high, easing fears that the world's second largest economy was heading towards a slowdown. Industrial production, which measures output at factories, workshops and mines, rose 9.7 percent year-on-year, well above analyst expectations. In contrast, disappointing figures out of Japan Monday showed economic growth in the world's third largest economy slowed in the April-June quarter, raising questions about Tokyo's bid to revive its economy after years of stagnation. The Cabinet office said Japan's economy expanded by 0.6 percent from the previous quarter, slower than a revised 0.9 percent increase between January and March. The figures indicate an annualised increase of 2.6 percent, down from the 4.1 percent annual rate in the first three months of the year.