Asian stocks gained on Monday as fresh U.S. employment figures whetted risk appetites, while investors turned their attention to the upcoming earnings season.
Photo: Reuters
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares jumped 1.3 percent. Japan’s Nikkei soared 1.2 percent as the yen dipped versus its U.S. counterpart.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index surged 1.4 percent after its first four-week losing streak since November 2016 and the Shanghai Composite added 1.5 percent.
Australian shares edged up 0.2 percent following Friday’s latest 10½-year closing peak.
In commodity markets, crude prices moved higher as the greenback weakened. U.S. WTI futures rose 35 cents to $74.15 per barrel, while Brent advanced 52 cents to $77.63 per barrel.
Gold climbed 0.5 percent to $1,260.20 an ounce.