SYDNEY, Australia - Stocks in Asia remained upbeat on Monday despite release of a report saying the Chinese economy fell to an annualised 6.4% growth rate in the last quarter of last year.

China's economy has been slowing in recent years. The 6.4% level however has not been seen since 2009 during the GFC. It was however largely expected.

"Policy makers appear to be weighing up the medium term risks of further debt growth against short term trend, hence the relatively modest stimulatory policy thus far," Gerard Bung, a senior economist at NAB told Reuters Thomson.

"They may be data dependent for a couple of quarters to make any large move," he said.

With U.S. markets closed for the Martin Luther King holiday, volumes were lighter than usual.

At the close of trading Monday, the Australian All Ordinaries was up 12.30 points or 0.21% at 5,963.50.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 closed 53.26 points or 0.26% higher at 20,719.33.

China's benchmark Shanghai Composite at the close had edged up 14.50 points or 0.56% to 2,610.51.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng finished ahead 105.72 points or 0.39% at 27,196.53.

The U.S. dollar was comatose throughout the Asian session on Monday, finishing the day in Sydney on Monday at around the closing levels in New York on Friday.

The euro was changing hands at 1.1377, and the British pound at 1.2869.

The Japanese yen was quoted at 109.56, while the Swiss franc was fetching 0.9954.

The Canadian dollar was quoted at 1.3264. The Australian dollar was at 0.7170, and the New Zealand dollar at 0.6726.