In a photo taken on November 4, 2019 a subway train crosses a rail bridge over the Han river, before the skyline of the Yeouido business district of Seoul.
Ed Jones | Afp | Getty Images
South Korea stocks surged on Monday after the country re-imposed a ban on short-selling, while most Asia-Pacific markets took heart from a soft U.S. jobs report that helped reduce interest rate expectations.
Financial authorities in South Korea said short-selling will be banned until the end of June 2024. Short-selling is when a trader sells borrowed shares to buy back at a lower price and pocket the difference.
U.S. nonfarm payrolls increased by 150,000 in October, lower than the Dow Jones consensus forecast for a 170,000 rise. This eased worries that the Federal Reserve will continues to hike interest rates.
Japan’s business activity expanded in October but at its softest pace this year, according to a private survey.
South Korea’s Kospi jumped 3.96%, and the Kosdaq gained 6.10% in morning trade.
Returning from a long weekend, Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 2.41%, while the Topix added 1.77% to hit its highest level in over one month.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 1.88%. Mainland China’s CSI 300 index gained 1.07%.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 added 0.34%.
U.S. stocks closed higher on Friday after a soft jobs report drove bond yields lower, and the major indexes registered their best week so far in 2023.
The S&P 500 climbed 0.94% and notched its first five-day advance since June.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained over 200 points to rise 0.66%, while the Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.38%.
— CNBC’s Sarah Min and Brian Evans contributed to this report.