Asian stocks were mixed on Monday after strong US jobs data cleared the way for more interest rate hikes and Chinese exports rose by double digits.
Shanghai and Tokyo advanced while Hong Kong and Seoul retreated. Oil prices edged higher.
Wall Street’s benchmark S and P 500 lost 0.2 per cent on Friday after government data showed American employers added more jobs than expected in June. That undercut expectations a slowing economy might prompt the Fed to postpone or scale back plans for more rate hikes to cool inflation.
“Now it seems they will be debating whether they need to be even more aggressive,” Edward Moya of Oanda said in a report.
The Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.2 per cent to 3,233.07 after China’s July exports beat forecasts. Exports in July surged 18 per cent compared with a year earlier while imports rose just 2.3 per cent, reflecting weak global demand, Chinese customs data showed on Sunday. The country’s global trade surplus swelled to a record USD 101 billion. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong fell 0.8 per cent to 20,040.21 while the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo gained 0.2 per cent to 26.230.90.