Asian markets traded higher on Monday, even as sentiment remains sour amid elevated crude oil prices.
MSCI’s Asia Pacific equities index gained 0.5%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rallied 2.28%, while the Topix rose 1.07%. Markets in mainland China and South Korea are closed for holidays.
Softer US jobs data eased concerns over the US Federal Reserve raising interest rates.
However, investors remain cautious over soaring US treasury yields, with the 10-year yield climbing to its highest level in more than two decades. Higher yields raise worries that higher borrowing costs could weigh on stocks even if the Fed holds rates steady in the near term.
Meanwhile, crude oil prices eased. Brent crude for December delivery fell 0.08% to $102.17 a barrel after climbing above $103 earlier in the session as Yemen launched a bid to recapture Houthi-controlled areas.
Wall Street
The US stock market ended higher on Friday after weaker-than-expected jobs data dented expectations for a Fed rate hike at its policy meeting this month.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 250.40 points, or 0.49%, to 51,176.96, while the S&P 500 gained 56.27 points, or 0.73%, to 7,722.72. The Nasdaq Composite closed 319.27 points, or 1.19%, higher at 27,190.86.
The US nonfarm payrolls increased by 29,000 jobs last month, and the unemployment rate increased to 4.2% last month from 4.1% in August.
The weaker-than-anticipated data lowered expectations for a rate hike of at least 25 basis points from the Fed at its meeting at the end of October to 22.7%, according to CME FedWatch, from 24.4% in the prior session and 64.2% a week earlier.