Asian shares push higher led by China

Asian shares mainly rose on Monday, led by a surge in China as hopes for more market intervention and state-backed mergers overshadowed fresh weak economic data from the world's number two economy. Shanghai led the gains, with shares surging up to 4.5 percent by mid-afternoon as speculation the government will accelerate mergers between state-owned enterprises and release new funds to support the market outweighed poor trade data. "The 8.3 percent decline in China's exports are a