Asia-Pacific higher after softer-than-expected US jobs data

Major Asia-Pacific stock markets traded higher Monday after a softer-than-expected US jobs report. While Japan and South Korea’s markets remained closed due to a public holiday, other regional indexes saw an uptick in activity, betting that the US Federal Reserve will try to cut interest rates this year.

Elsewhere, S&P Global stated that Caixin China’s PMI landed at 52.5 in April. Meanwhile, the Composite Output Index advanced to 52.8 in the same month, up from 52.7 in March.

At 7:12 am CET, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.21%. In mainland China, the Shenzhen Composite improved by 1.96% at 6:57 am CET, and the Shanghai Composite gained 1.03% at 7:13 am CET. On the other hand, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was flat a minute later.

On the currency front, the dollar increased by 0.63% compared to the Japanese yen at 7:14 am CET, trading for ¥153.9405.