Shanghai’s city skyline as seen from observation deck at Shanghai Tower in China.
Qilai Shen | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets opened higher Monday, tracking Wall Street’s gains after a U.S. job report showed fewer jobs were created in December than expected, even as the unemployment rate fell, signaling resilience in the labor market.
Investors will be keeping an eye on oil prices as Iran entered a third week of protests, which have killed more than 500 people, according to a U.S.-based rights group. President Donald Trump is reportedly weighing options for intervention in Iran, according to multiple reports Sunday.
Brent crude futures rose 0.84% to $63.87 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude gained 0.83% to $59.62, as of 7:25 a.m. Singapore time (6:25 p.m. EST Sunday).
Spot gold prices rose more than 1.6% to an all-time high of $4,581.29 per ounce, as of 8:40 a.m. Singapore time (7:39 p.m. EST).
Gold spot price
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.71%.
South Korea’s Kospi climbed 0.83%, and the small-cap Kosdaq advanced 0.4%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was set to open higher, with its futures contract trading at 26,408, against the index’s previous close of 26,231.79.
Japanese markets were closed for a holiday. On Sunday, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s coalition partner, Hirofumi Yoshimura, said that she may call an early general election. His comments come after domestic media reported that Takaichi is considering a snap election in February, citing government sources.
The Japanese yen weakened sharply Monday, hitting a one-year low of 158.19 against the greenback.
U.S. equity futures were flat in early Asian hours, ahead of a flurry of key economic data and earnings reports throughout the week.
On Friday stateside, the S&P 500 closed up 0.65% to 6,966.28, a fresh record close. It also notched a new all-time intraday high in the session.
The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.81% to 23,671.35. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 237.96 points, or 0.48%, to end at 49,504.07, scoring a new closing record as well.
— CNBC’s Sean Conlon and Pia Singh contributed to this report.
