Asian equity benchmarks are trading up in the early deals on Monday following the rally on Wall Street Friday, as upbeat US jobs data boosted confidence for the world's largest economy. The Labor Department said non-farm payroll employment surged up by 255,000 jobs in July after jumping by an upwardly revised 292,000 jobs in June. Employment had been expected to increase by about 185,000 jobs. Meanwhile, Japan's Nikkei share average rose buoyed by gains on Wall Street and the yen's retreat following Friday's upbeat US non-farm payrolls report.
Nikkei 225 added 337.55 points or 2.08% to 16,592.00, Hang Seng increased 275.16 points or 1.24% to 22,421.25, Jakarta Composite gained 25.11 points or 0.46% to 5,445.36, Straits Times jumped 35.79 points or 1.27% to 2,863.96, Shanghai Composite surged 7.75 points or 0.26% to 2,984.44, Taiwan Weighted rose 14.35 points or 0.16% to 9,106.47, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI spurt 1.76 points or 0.11% to 1,665.80, and KOSPI Index was up by 8.21 points or 0.41% to 2,026.15.