Asia stocks rise on brightening U.S. economic prospects
By Lisa Twaronite TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian stocks basked in the glow of a record close on Wall Street after bright U.S. jobs data pointed to improving economic momentum, while the dollar gained on Monday on rising U.S. Treasury yields. U.S. jobs data on Friday showed that nonfarm payrolls increased by 217,000 last month, bringing employment back to its pre-recession level and validating the view that labour conditions are improving. The unemployment rate held steady at a 5-1/2 year low of 6.3 percent. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up about 0.2 percent, while Japan's Nikkei stock average added 0.7 percent in early trading The Dow Jones industrial average and S&P 500 ended at new records on Friday. For the week, the Dow, the S&P and the Nasdaq Composite all added more than 1 percent, with the Nasdaq rising 1.9 percent. The yield on benchmark 10-year Treasuries stood at 2.598 percent, steady from Friday's U.S. close of 2.597 percent and well above 11-month lows plumbed last month. By contrast, Italian, Spanish and Irish bond yields fell to record lows on Friday, a day after the European Central Bank unveiled a package of easing steps. "The yield on 10-year U.S. Treasuries may need to sustain a move back above [the] 2.6 percent area to increase the likelihood of the greenback move through the 102.80 level against the yen," Marc Chandler, global head of currency strategy at Brown Brothers Harriman, said in a note to clients. For now, the dollar had to be content with a 0.2 percent gain to buy 102.64 yen, getting some help from Japanese current account data released early on Monday. Japan posted a lower-than-expected surplus in April, as income gains from overseas investments narrowed and the trade deficit widened. Still, it marked the third consecutive month of surpluses. Other data on Monday showed Japan's economy grew 1.6 percent in January-March from the previous quarter, revised up from a preliminary 1.5 percent expansion due to faster growth in capital expenditure. The euro also gained on its Japanese counterpart, edging up 0.2 percent to buy 140.07 yen, testing its highest levels since mid-May. Against the greenback, the euro was steady on the day at $1.3647. In commodities trading, U.S. crude gained about 0.1 percent to $102.72 a barrel, underpinned by the solid jobs report that pointed to an improving economy and suggested that oil demand will increase. (Editing by Shri Navaratnam)
