Asian markets started the week higher with Chinese stocks among the top gainers in the region after Beijing late Friday released a more detailed reform plan outlining more foreign investment in the financial sector, and a revamp of initial public offerings, particularly for state-owned companies.

The Nikkei was up 0.1%. The Shanghai Composite gained 1.6% while the Hang Seng rose 2.7%. The Sensex was up 1.5% but the All Ordinaries slipped 0.3%.

In China, data showed average prices of new homes in 70 Chinese cities rose to another fresh high, marking the ninth consecutive month of price increases in October from year-ago levels.

Stocks on the Move

Stocks were little changed in Tokyo after the yen remained steady versus the dollar at 100.04, having fallen just below the 100 yen level last week.

State-owned companies such as ICBC and Sinopec were up 3.4% and 7.1% in Hong Kong. The mainland-listed shares rose 0.5% and 2.9% each, respectively.

Baby-product companies also gained after the government said it would relax the one-child policy that has been in place for more than three decades. Infant formula company Biostime International Holdings added 3.8%.

In Mumbai, ICICI and L&T were the top gainers, up 3.1% each, respectively. ONGC and ITC were up 2.6% and 2.4% each while HDFC Bank added 2.3%.

In Sydney, BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto both edged up 0.2%. Among banks, CBA fell 0.6% while WBA and ANZ were down 0.4% and 0.6% each, respectively.