SYDNEY, NSW, Australia - Stocks in Asia were predominantly directionless on Monday, although the Hong market managed to tack on a couple of hundred points.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 closed Monday with a minor loss of 9.34 points or 0.03 percent at 28,478.56.

The Australian All Ordinaries slipped 8.30 points or 0.11 percent to 7,766.10.

China's Shanghai Composite edged up 13.98 points or 0.39 percent to 3,593.52.

The Hang Seng in Hong Kong traded 253.16 points or 1.08 percent higher, to close Monday at 23,746.54.

On foreign exchange markets, the euro was steady at 1.1332. The British pound was slightly firmer at 1.3590. The Japanese yen inched up to 115.76. The Swiss franc was little changed at .9207.

The Canadian dollar was firmer at 1.2636. The Australian dollar was a fraction higher at 0.7193. The New Zealand dollar crept up to 0.6780.