Asian stocks traded higher on Monday, tracking gains seen on Wall Street after Friday’s expectation-topping U.S. jobs report.
The Nikkei 225 made convincing gains, with the benchmark advancing 1.03 percent in early morning trade as most sectors rose. Automakers and shippers were among the best-performing sectors in the morning, with the broader Topix climbing 1.14 percent.
Gains elsewhere in the region were moderate, with the Kospi edging higher by 0.19 percent in Seoul and the S&P/ASX 200 tacking on 0.6 percent in Sydney.
MSCI’s broad index of shares in Asia Pacific excluding Japan, meanwhile, was higher by 0.3 percent in Asia morning trade.
Markets in New Zealand were closed on Monday.
Investors continued to keep an eye on trade concerns after U.S.-China trade talksyielded no major breakthroughs. China threatened that previous trade agreements negotiated by the countries “will not take effect” if the Trump administration goes ahead with a planned tariff increase.
U.S. stocks closed higher on Friday after the release of better-than-expected jobs numbers, with the Dow Jones industrial average rising 0.9 percent, or 219.37 points, to close at 24,635.21.
The U.S. economy added 223,000 jobs last month, topping a forecast of 188,000 in a Reuters poll. The unemployment rate dropped to 3.8 percent, its lowest since April 2000.
The greenback held onto gains made on the back of Friday’s robust jobs report. Against the yen, the dollar traded at 109.56 at 8:21 a.m. HK/SIN.
The dollar index, which tracks the dollar against a basket of rival currencies, stood at 94.104.
On the energy front, U.S. crude futures were little changed at $65.82 per barrel. Brent crude futures edged down 0.27 percent to trade at $76.58. Oil had come under pressure in the last session on the back of the firmer dollar.
In corporate news, PC maker Lenovo’s removal from Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng Index takes effect on Monday. CSPC Pharmaceutical Group, a Chinese drugmaker, will replace the computer maker as part of the index.
Here’s the economic calendar for Monday (all times in HK/SIN):
- 9:30 a.m.: Australia retail sales
- 12:00 p.m.: Indonesia May inflation
