Asia stocks higher after U.S. jobs data

SYDNEY (MarketWatch) � Asian stocks mostly advanced Monday, as investors took their first chance to react to employment data indicating some improvement in the health of the U.S. economy, with earnings providing an extra boost for Sharp Corp. and Panasonic Corp.

Japan�s Nikkei Stock Average JP:100000018 �rose 0.5%, South Korea�s Kospi KR:SEU �moved up 0.3%, and Australia�s S&P/ASX 200 index AU:XJO �slipped 0.1%.

Hong Kong�s Hang Seng Index HK:HSI �climbed 0.7%, while the Shanghai Composite index CN:000001 �rose 0.3%.

In U.S. trading on Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA ended above 14,000 for the first time in five years, after Labor Department figures showed a modest 157,000 rise in nonfarm payrolls for January and that more jobs were added to the U.S. economy last year than previously thought.

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Other figures out Friday showed U.S. manufacturing expanding to a nine-month high. Read: U.S. stocks rally; Dow industrials top 14,000.

Calling the jobs data a �Goldilocks� number � meaning not too strong and not too weak � strategists at Barclays Capital said the data indicate the U.S. economy has maintained its momentum, �but not so much as to alter our view that the [Federal Reserve] will remain accommodative.� Read: U.S. adds 157,000 jobs, unemployment rises.

The dollar USDJPY �bought 92.64 yen in Monday�s session, up from �92.50 in late North American trading on Friday. The euro bought �126.24, from �126.36 late last week.

Brown Brothers Harriman strategists said the dollar could rise as high as �97-�98 if �the deterioration of Japan�s trade balance and the aggressive pursuit of stimulative fiscal and monetary policy by the Abe government keeps downward pressure on the yen.�

Further yen weakness saw autos push higher Tokyo on Monday, as Nissan Motor Co. JP:7201 NSANY �climbed 3.2% and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. JP:7211 MMTOF �surged 10.7%.

Sharp Corp. JP:6753 �SHCAF jumped 7.9% after the firm announced late last week a narrower quarterly net loss. Panasonic Corp. JP:6752 �PC �soared 16.7% after swinging to a quarterly net profit.

/quotes/zigman/194943 6752 692.00, +100.00, +16.89% /quotes/zigman/197304 6753 355.00, +26.00, +7.90% /quotes/zigman/5986735 100000018 11,245.37, +54.03, +0.48% One-year price chart Shares of Sharp and Panasonic Vs. Nikkei Average

Hong Kong-listed firms exposed to the global economy were advancing on Monday, with Cosco Pacific Ltd. HK:1199 CSPKY �up 1%. Some consumer stocks also climbed, with Belle International Holdings Ltd. HK:1880 BELLY �up 2.2%.

Property firms and banks were also advancing, with China Resources Land Ltd. HK:1109 �CRBJF �up 2.2% and Bank of China Ltd. HK:3988 �BACHY �2.3% higher.

Mainland Chinese trading also saw gains for banks, with Bank of China �CN:601988 �gaining 1.9% in Shanghai and Agricultural Bank of China Ltd. CN:601288 �ACGBY �up 3.2%.

Steelmaker JFE Holdings Inc. JP:5411 �jumped 10.1%, helped by an upgrade to buy from neutral at Daiwa Securities.

In South Korean trading, technology firms were seeing some buying, with SkHynix Inc. KR:000660 �HXSCL �up 1% and Samsung Electronics Co. KR:005930 �SSNLF �moving higher by 0.6%.

Australian trading saw mining companies, which are exposed to the global economy, advance in Sydney, with Rio Tinto Ltd. AU:RIO RIO �up 1.2% and Mirabela Nickel Ltd. AU:MBN higher by 7.8%.

Financials fell, however, with Macquarie Group Ltd. AU:MQG � MQBKY �trading down 2.1% and ASX Ltd. AU:ASX � down 1.3%.