CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stock markets are higher on Monday following the gains on Wall Street Friday after disappointing U.S. jobs data for May raised hopes that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates in the near future.
In addition, news that the U.S. and Mexico have reached a migration deal to avert the implementation of President Donald Trump's threatened tariffs set to begin on Monday, boosted sentiment.
The Japanese market is rising, with stocks higher across the board. Automakers are gaining on news of the U.S.-Mexico deal, as several Japanese automakers use Mexico as a production base.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is adding 239.44 points or 1.15 percent to 21,124.15, after touching a high of 21,150.47 in early trades. Japanese shares ended higher on Friday.
The major exporters are higher despite a slightly stronger yen. Sony and Mitsubishi Electric are advancing more than 1 percent each, while Panasonic is adding almost 1 percent and Canon is up 0.5 percent.
In the auto space, Toyota Motor and Honda Motor are adding more than 1 percent each.
Shares of Nissan Motor are higher by 1 percent despite the Financial Times reporting that French automaker Renault has told Nissan it will block the Japanese automaker's plan to overhaul its troubled corporate governance.
Among tech stocks, Advantest is higher by more than 2 percent and Tokyo Electron is up more than 1 percent.
Among the major banks, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is declining 0.3 percent and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is lower by 0.2 percent. In the oil sector, Inpex is advancing almost 1 percent and Japan Petroleum is rising more than 2 percent.
Among the major gainers, Toray Industries is gaining almost 5 percent, Yaskawa Electric is higher by almost 4 percent and Tokai Carbon is rising more than 3 percent.
On the flip side, Chiba Bank is losing more than 1 percent.
In economic news, the Cabinet Office said that Japan's gross domestic product expanded a seasonally adjusted 0.6 percent on quarter in the first three months of 2019. That's an upward revision from 0.5 percent in last month's preliminary reading, and it was in line with expectations.
The Bank of Japan said that overall bank lending in Japan was up 2.6 percent on year in May, coming in at 536.844 trillion yen. That follows the 2.4 percent annual increase in April.
The Ministry of Finance said Japan had a current account surplus of 1,707.4 billion in April, on Monday - down 9.5 percent on year. That exceeded expectations for a surplus of 1,514.5 billion yen following the 2,847.9 billion yen surplus in March.
The trade balance fell to a 98.2 billion yen deficit, versus expectations for a surplus of 5.0 billion yen following the 700.1 billion yen surplus in the previous month.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 108 yen-range on Monday.
Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong is rising almost 2 percent, while Indonesia and Taiwan are advancing more than 1 percent each. Shanghai, South Korea, Singapore and Malaysia are also higher.
Bucking the trend, New Zealand market is edging lower. The Australian market is closed in observance of the Queen's birthday.
On Wall Street, stocks closed sharply higher on Friday, reflecting optimism disappointing U.S. jobs data could spur the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates in the near future.
The Labor Department's closely-watched monthly jobs report released before the start of trading showed non-farm payroll employment rose by 75,000 jobs in May after soaring by a downwardly revised 224,000 jobs in April. Economists had expected employment to increase by about 185,000 jobs compared to the jump of 263,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.
The Dow jumped 263.28 points or 1 percent to 25,983.94, the Nasdaq soared 126.55 points or 1.7 percent to 7,742.10 and the S&P 500 surged up 29.85 points or 1.1 percent to 2,873.34.
The major European markets also moved to the upside on Friday. While the French CAC 40 Index spiked by 1.6 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index surged up by 1 percent and the German DAX Index advanced by 0.8 percent.
Crude oil futures ended sharply higher for a second straight session on Friday, amid signs OPEC members and allies will extend output cuts beyond June. WTI crude for July ended up $1.40 or 2.7 percent at $53.99 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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