Non-farm adds fervor to Asian stocks

Investor sentiments remain strong even as most of markets remain closed

Stocks in Asia rose in a thinly traded session as hopes of a strong rebound in the US economy led by impressive job numbers propped up the sentiments. Though most of the markets in the region are having an extended weekend, the markets that are open for trading are mostly up in positive territory at present. The metals, banking and energy stocks advanced on the back of consumption led recovery in the world's largest economy. Dollar found some buying support in the late trading though, curving the gains somewhat for the benchmark equities.

With markets in Australia, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and New Zealand closed for holidays, the investors in Asia did not have much to express their cheers to the strong US non-farm numbers. U.S. nonfarm payrolls rose 162000 in March, the largest since March 2007, and only the third time payrolls have increased since the recession hit in late 2007. The unemployment rate, however, held steady at 9.7% for a third straight month, the US Labor Department said on Friday.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei average closed up 0.47% at 11,339.30, after climbing as high as 11,408.17 in intraday moves, a fresh 18-month peak, as automakers such as Honda Motor and Toyota Motor continued to rise following a jump in U.S. auto sales in March. The Nikkei also drew support from the yen's fall last week to a seven-month low against the dollar. A fall in the yen can help Japanese exporters as it makes their products more competitive and can increase their overseas profits when repatriated back home.

Singapore stocks rose 0.86 per cent to close at their highest level this year backed by firmer US stock futures and the upbeat undertone in the Asian markets. . In other markets, Indonesian equities added 1.8% while Thailand stocks shed 0.4%.

Meanwhile, South Korea's Kospi index added 0.1% to 1724.99, not the kind of performance, which would have been expected after an announcement, that South Korea's government and its central bank pledged to work together to avoid the occurrence of another economic crisis

In Mumbai, sustained buying in index pivotals took the key benchmark indices to their highest levels in 25-months. Firm Asian stocks and higher US index futures underpinned sentiment. US markets settled at 18-month highs buoyed by an upbeat US job data. The BSE 30-share Sensex was provisionally up 241.32 points or 1.36%, up 240.28 points from the day's low and off 14.60 points from the day's high. The market extended gains in mid-afternoon trade to hit fresh 25-month highs.

Meanwhile, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said on Sunday that the U.S. economy is building up momentum and the risk of a double-dip recession has faded significantly and that the odds of a double-dip recession in the U.S. had fallen very significantly in recent months.

In US, stocks closed the first day of the second quarter moderately higher on Thursday, amid caution ahead of Friday's monthly jobs report. The major averages all closed in positive territory, with the Dow and the S&P 500 setting fresh eighteen-month closing highs.

The Institute for Supply Management stated that activity in the manufacturing sector expanded for the eighth consecutive month in March. The index of activity in the sector rose by more than economists expected, reaching its highest level since July of 2004. On the other hand, the Commerce Department released a report showing that spending on construction declined by a sharper than expected margin in the month of February.

The major averages moved to the upside in late-session trading, with the Nasdaq returning to positive territory after a brief stint below the unchanged line. The Dow gained 70.44 points or 0.7% to finish at 10,927.07, the Nasdaq advanced by 4.62 points or 0.2 % to 2402.58 and the S&P 500 rose by 8.67 points or 0.7 % to 1,178.10.

In commodities, early weakness in dollar fuelled some buying for metals and energy counters though some moderation was witnessed in the prices later on as the dollar marched on to trade under 1.3500 against the Euro. The light, sweet crude oil futures for May hit a high of $85.89 per barrel and currently trade at $85.31, up 44 cents from the previous close as traders eyed some profit selling after the recent bout of gains.