Asian stocks rally on strong US jobs data

Asian stocks surged and the US dollar hit a fresh seven-week high against the yen on Monday. This follows a blowout US labour report that eased recession fears and dramatically reduced expectations for aggressive interest rate cuts from the Fed.

Japan’s Nikkei led the regional gains, climbing two per cent by 0015 GMT, buoyed further by a weaker yen. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.12 per cent, while South Korea’s Kospi advanced 0.29 per cent.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng remained closed, and mainland Chinese markets are shut until Tuesday for the Golden Week holiday. Overall, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares climbed 0.4 per cent.

The US dollar reached a peak of 149.10 yen, its highest level since August 16th, before settling at 148.87 yen, a gain of 0.18 per cent.  Japan’s top currency diplomat, Atsushi Mimura, indicated that officials would closely monitor foreign exchange movements, including potential speculative trading.

Gold prices dipped slightly by 0.1 per cent to $2,649.29 an ounce but remained near their record high of $2,685.42 reached last month.

Crude oil prices fell after recording their biggest weekly gains in more than a year due to concerns about a potential wider conflict in the Middle East.

Brent crude futures lost 65 cents to settle at $77.40 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures declined 53 cents to $73.85 per barrel.

Attribution: Reuters

Subediting: M. S. Salama