- Hezbollah battles troops on border as Israel pounds Lebanon
- Alcaraz, Sinner breeze into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Bagnaia wins Japan MotoGP sprint to cut Martin's lead
- Alcaraz breezes into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Gaza cultural heritage brought to light in Geneva
- 'Bullet for democracy': Trump returns to site of rally shooting
- Italy targets climate activists in 'anti-Gandhi' demo clampdown
- South Korean cult-horror series 'Hellbound' returns at BIFF
- Nepalis fear more floods as climate change melts glaciers
- Honduras arrests environmentalist's alleged murderer
- Padres pitcher Musgrove needs elbow surgery
- Supreme Court lets stand rules to curb mercury, methane emissions
- Boston beat Denver in NBA exhibition season opener, but Jokic says omens are good
- Chagos diaspora angry at lack of input on islands' fate
- Biden says 'not confident' of peaceful US election
- US trade chief defends tariff hikes when paired with investment
- Lukaku stars as Napoli beat Como to hold Serie A top spot
- Ohtani set for MLB playoff debut as Dodgers face Padres
- Pogba's drug ban cut to 18 months from four years
- Devine leads New Zealand to big win over India in Women's T20 World Cup
- Bosnia floods kill 16 people
- EU court blocks French ban on vegetable 'steak' labelling
- Prosecutors seek dismissal of rape charges against French rugby players
- Meta AI turns pictures into videos with sound
- Bolivia's Morales says claims he raped a minor are a 'lie'
- MLB Reds hire two-time champion Francona as manager
- Daniel Maldini receives first Italy call-up for Nations League
- US dockworkers return to ports after three-day strike
- Ancelotti points finger at Madrid's 'lack of intensity'
- Haiti reeling after 70 killed in gang attack
- Five Czech kids in hospital over TikTok 'piercing challenge'
- What happens next in Iran-Israel conflict?
- Country star Garth Brooks denies rape accusations
- Stubbs hits maiden century as South Africa make 343-4 against Ireland
- DR Congo to begin mpox vaccination campaign Saturday in east
- Odegaard injury has forced Arsenal to be 'different', says Arteta
- Ratcliffe refuses to guarantee Ten Hag's Man Utd future
- Meta must limit data use for targeted ads: EU court
- Mauritius to hold legislative election on November 10
- Britain qualify for America's Cup final after 60-year wait
- IMF asks Sri Lanka to protect hard-won gains
- Morata returns to Spain Nations League squad after injury
- Irish regulator to probe Ryanair use of facial recognition
- Public allowed to see video evidence in France mass rape trial
- US hiring soars past expectations in sign of resilient market
- Under-fire Ten Hag 'together' with Man Utd hierarchy
- Guardiola talks of Man City love affair as financial hearing rumbles on
- De Bruyne out of Belgium Nations League squad
- Japanese trainer Yahagi hopes Shin Emperor achieves 50-year-old Arc dream
- UK's Starmer hails 'landmark' carbon capture funding
Markets mostly up on US jobs data but rate worries linger
Asian markets mostly rose Monday as another strong jobs report provided some reassurance that the recovery in the US economy remained on track, though it also solidified expectations for more aggressive Federal Reserve interest rate hikes.
The gains were helped by another recent drop in oil prices after the 31-nation International Energy Agency agreed to tap its vast reserves to offset the removal of Russian exports, while the start of a ceasefire in Yemen eased concerns over supplies from the region.
Officials said Friday that the world's top economy added 431,000 positions in March while the unemployment rate fell to just slightly above pre-pandemic levels.
The figures showed that while inflation has surged to a 40-year high and the Ukraine war has fanned uncertainty, the recovery continues.
The economy's resilience will be taken as further evidence that it could withstand a sharper rise in interest rates to bring prices under control, with many observers now predicting a half-point hike in May.
However, expectations that rates will continue to go up have seen Treasury yields surge with commentators saying there were warning signs that growth will slow as the year progresses.
"It would not be surprising to see yields rise further from here and it is very hard to know where they will land," Angela Ashton, of Evergreen Consultants, noted.
"Markets are volatile and there is every chance they will overshoot."
A positive close on Wall Street was followed by a broadly upbeat start to the week in Asia.
Hong Kong led gains thanks to a rally in tech firms after Beijing removed a rule preventing US authorities from inspecting the audits of Chinese companies listed in New York.
The announcement came after a drawn-out row between the two countries with Washington saying Chinese firms could be delisted by 2024 if they do not comply with audit requirements.
The demand put at risk more than 200 companies, including e-commerce titans Alibaba and JD.com and Tencent.
Tokyo, Singapore, Sydney, Mumbai, Seoul, Manila, Jakarta and Bangkok also rose, though Wellington struggled.
London, Paris and Frankfurt all rose at the open.
Shanghai and Taipei were closed for a holiday.
Crude bounced after Friday's losses, responding to the IEA pledge to dip into stockpiles to shore up tight supplies caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The grouping made the promise at an emergency ministerial meeting, having already announced last week a plan to release more than 60 million barrels.
That came a day after US President Joe Biden said he would release a record 180 million barrels onto the market over six months.
Meanwhile, there was also some cheer from news of a 60-day ceasefire in Yemen's six-year civil war, which has seen several attacks on Saudi facilities that have hit output from the world's biggest producer.
Still, analysts said that while markets equity and crude markets have shown some stability after the wild swings seen at the start of the Ukraine war, uncertainty continued to act as a drag and traders remained nervous.
"Risk sentiment over the past week has been inconsistent," said SPI Asset Management's Stephen Innes.
"Market signals could be characterised by a repetitive cat-and-mouse game whereby headlines initially emerge around the progress in ceasefire talks before being typically walked down by Russian officials who deny the odds of any close peace deal.
- Key figures around 0720 GMT -
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.3 percent at 27,736.47 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 1.8 percent at 22,443.36
Shanghai - Composite: Closed for a holiday
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.4 percent at 7,566.36
Brent North Sea crude: UP 0.9 percent at $105.37 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.9 percent at $100.20 per barrel
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1039 from $1.1049 late Friday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3129 from $1.3118
Euro/pound: DOWN at 84.08 pence from 84.24 pence
Dollar/yen: UP at 122.67 yen from 122.49 yen
New York - Dow: UP 0.4 percent at 34,818.27 (close)
V.Fontes--PC