Asia report: Markets higher after strong Friday on Wall Street

Markets in Asia finished higher on Monday, as investors reacted to a solid finish on Wall Street on Friday which came after the release of stronger-than-expected employment data stateside at the end of the week.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 was ahead 0.56% at 22,938.73, as the yen strengthened 0.19% to JPY 113.27 against the dollar.

Banks, carmakers and trading houses were all higher in Tokyo, while technology shares finished mixed, as SoftBank Group was up 0.47% and Sony fell 1.09%.

Construction firm Obayashi Corporation fell 5.44% after local press reports that prosecutors were looking into investigating the company for possible bid-rigging.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite finished up 0.98% at 3,322.20, and the smaller, technology-heavy Shenzhen Composite was 1.49% higher at 1,919.69.

Carmakers and blue-chip technology stocks were down in Seoul, with Samsung Electronics falling 0.69% and SK Hynix finishing down 0.51%.

South Korea’s Kospi was 0.3% firmer at 2,471.49, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong added 1.14% to 28,965.29.

Oil prices were lower, with Brent crude last down 0.06% to $63.36 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate off 0.28% to $57.20.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 was just 0.07% higher at 5,998.30, with gains in the energy and materials sectors just outperforming losses in the consumer discretionary and utilities subindexes.

Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 gained 0.5% to 8,277.51, led higher by Metro Performance Glass and rural-focussed Heartland Bank, which added 5.6% and 3.5% respectively.

Both of the down under dollars were stronger on the greenback, with the Aussie last ahead 0.27% at AUD 1.3281 and the Kiwi advancing 1.2% to NZD 1.4450.