Asia stocks track Wall St rally after US jobs report

Tokyo led Asian stocks higher on Monday, tracking a strong lead from Wall Street where markets rallied in the wake of strong US jobs data.

China markets also rose despite figures showing that imports and exports both slumped in July in dollar terms -- the latest poor figures from the world's second-largest economy.

Both the US and Europe got a lift Friday after Washington reported a big gain in jobs in July and upgraded employment estimates for the previous two months, boosting the chances of a Federal Reserve interest rate rise this year.

The report saw the dollar rise against the yen -- a positive for Japanese exporters as a weaker yen inflates the value of their overseas profits.

Oil was also up slightly in Asia after slumping into a so-called bear market last week -- losing 20 percent from recent June peaks above $50, and closing below $40 a barrel for the first time since April.

"The US economy has returned to its job-creating best, judging from the non-farm payrolls data released on Friday night. In response to the strength in employment, US shares hit all-time highs, industrial commodities rallied and gold and bonds fell," Michael McCarthy, chief market strategist at CMC Markets, said in a commentary.
The US Labor Department said the world's top economy added 255,000 jobs in July, easily topping analyst forecasts for an increase of 185,000.

The figures helped markets shrug off some lacklustre US data of late, including a report a week ago that estimated second-quarter growth at just 1.2 percent.

The broad-based S&P 500 and the tech-rich Nasdaq ended at all-time highs.

Asia stocks followed suit, with Tokyo rising 2.4 percent by the close while Hong Kong jumped 1.4 percent in afternoon trading. Sydney closed up 0.7 percent and Singapore put on 1.7 percent.

Seoul, Taipei and Jakarta were also higher, while Bangkok climbed 1.2 percent after Thai voters over the weekend approved a junta-scripted constitution. The baht rose 0.4 percent against the greenback.

- China exports, imports slump -

Shanghai gained 0.9 percent, even after figures showing that the economy struggled in July with a worse-than-expected trade performance.

Measured in US dollars, China's imports fell 12.5 percent year-on-year to $132.4 billion as weaker global commodity prices and lacklustre domestic demand weighed on the value of purchases. 

The drop was significantly larger than the 7.0 percent median forecast in a survey of economists by Bloomberg News.

Exports also fell in US dollar terms, dropping 4.4 percent to $184.7 billion -- compared to expectations of a 3.5 percent decline.

As the world's biggest trader in goods, China is crucial to the global economy and its performance affects partners from Australia to Zambia, which have been battered by its slowing growth -- while it faces headwinds itself in key developed markets.

In yuan terms, exports rose 2.90 percent year-on-year to 1.22 trillion yuan, with imports falling 5.70 percent to 873 billion yuan.

In early European trade, London added 0.4 percent, Frankfurt increased 0.5 percent and Paris gained 0.2 percent.

- Key figures at around 0730 GMT -

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 2.4 percent at 16,650.57 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.9 percent at 3,004.277 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng: UP 1.4 percent at 22,456.35

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1089 from $1.1087 Friday

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3054 from $1.3086

Dollar/yen: UP at 102.14 yen from 101.79 yen

New York - DOW: UP 1.0 percent at 18,543.53 (close)

London - FTSE 100: 0.4 percent at 6,818.46

Source: AFP