Asian Equities Rise as Stronger-Than-Expected U.S. Job Data Offset Trade Fears

Asian stocks rose in morning trade on Monday

Investing.com – Asian stocks rose in morning trade on Monday as the U.S. reported stronger-than-expected job data, with traders keeping an eye on trade tensions as China and the U.S. exchanged tariffs last week.

On Friday, The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.41%, the S&P 500 gained 0.85% and the Nasdaq composite surged 1.34% after data showed the U.S. economy added 213,000 jobs in June, topping the 195,000 forecast.

China’s Shanghai Composite and the Shenzhen Component gained 1.3% and 0.7% respectively by 9:55PPM ET (01:55 GMT).

The U.S. tariffs on $34 billion worth of Chinese goods came into effect on Friday. Trump told reporters that another $16 billion are expected to go into effect in two weeks, and that he is considering to impose additional tariffs on $500 billion in Chinese goods if Beijing retaliate.

In response, China followed up by imposing duties on the same value of U.S. products. China's Ministry of Commerce said it had no choice but to respond to the U.S. after the latter "launched the largest trade war in economic history."

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index traded 1.7% higher. Smartphone maker Xiaomi Corp (HK:1810) made headlines as it debuts for trade in Hong Kong after the company priced its IPO at HK$17 per share on Friday, the low end of an indicative range of HK$17 to HK$22.

That transaction gives the company a reported valuation of about $54 billion, well below the initially hoped for $100 billion.

South Korea’s KOSPI climbed 0.6%. North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency said a visit by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had been “regrettable” and accused Washington of making “gangster-like” demands to pressure the country into abandoning its nuclear weapons.

“The U.S. side came up only with its unilateral and gangster-like demand for denuclearization,” an unnamed Foreign Ministry spokesman said in statement a few hours after Pompeo’s departure.

The official said that U.S. calls for “complete, verifiable, irreversible denuclearization,” run “counter to the spirit of the Singapore summit.”

Elsewhere, Japan’s Nikkei 225 surged 3.0%, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 edged up 0.2% in morning trade.

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