Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.7% to end at 7,682.4, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index gained 0.47%, while mainland China’s CSI 300 added 1.48% to end at 3,657.88
Asia-Pacific markets tracked Wall Street gains on Monday as a softer-than-expected U.S. jobs report fuelled hopes that the Fed could start reducing rates soon.
Investors, meanwhile, awaited the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) rate decision on Tuesday and China’s April trade data on Thursday.
ING stated in a note last week that the RBA meeting was “worth watching closely,” adding that recent inflation data from Australia showed growth in prices was beginning to accelerate.
Nevertheless, the analysts said Australia’s inflation data was better than they had anticipated, and compared to the US, the country’s economy had slowed more with the labour market weakening significantly. As such, they predicted no change to the RBA’s rate of 4.35%.
On Monday, composite purchasing managers’ index (PMI) figures are released by S&P Global for Hong Kong, while service PMI figures are also out for mainland China and India.
Japan and South Korea’s markets are shut for a public holiday.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.7% to end at 7,682.4, marking a third consecutive day of gains.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index gained 0.47%, while mainland China’s CSI 300 added 1.48% to end at 3,657.88 as traders returned from Labor Day holiday.
On Friday in the U.S., stocks climbed sharply following a softer-than-expected April jobs report.
Friday’s nonfarm payrolls report showed 175,000 jobs were added in April, below the 240,000 jobs anticipated by economists surveyed by Dow Jones.
The unemployment rate inched up to 3.9%, versus 3.8% in the previous month, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Wage figures also came in less than expected, an encouraging sign for inflation.
The S&P 500 soared 1.26% to notch its best day since February, while the Nasdaq Composite rallied 1.99%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1.18%.
