Asia stocks higher as U.S. jobs report lifts sentiment
Investing.com
Published May 06, 2013 02:46AM ET
During late Asian trade, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index climbed 1%, Australia’s ASX/200 Index closed up 0.5%, while markets in Tokyo remained closed for a public holiday. Japan will resume trade on Tuesday.
Appetite for riskier assets strengthened after official data on Friday showed the U.S. economy added 165,000 jobs in April, above expectations for an increase of 145,000, while job increases for the previous month were revised up to 138,000.
The U.S. unemployment rate unexpectedly fell to a four-month low of 7.5% from 7.6% in March.
The news prompted investors to move in to riskier assets, such as stocks and commodities and shun safe-haven assets.
In Australia, the benchmark ASX/200 Index rose to the highest level since June 2008 earlier in the session before paring some gains on profit taking.
Global miners led gains, with BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto jumping 2.9% and 3.3% respectively, while Fortescue Metals Group and Oz Minerals rallied 5.9% and 9.5% apiece.
Investors were now looking ahead to Tuesday’s interest rate decision by the Reserve Bank of Australia for further hints regarding the central bank’s monetary policy.
Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng shot up to and eight-week high on the back of strong gains in commodity producers.
Jiangxi Copper Company saw shares rally 5% after copper prices surged 7% on Friday. Oil majors CNOOC and PetroChina also contributed to gains, rising 1.4% and 3% respectively.
Looking ahead, European stock market futures pointed to a steady open, as concerns over the outlook for the euro zone economy offset Friday’s better-than-expected U.S. jobs data.
The EURO STOXX 50 futures pointed to a flat open, France’s CAC 40 futures were little changed, London’s FTSE 100 futures eased up 0.1%, while Germany's DAX futures pointed to a loss of 0.1% at the open.
The euro zone was to release official data on retail sales later in the day.
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Written By: Investing.com
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