HONG KONG — Asian shares closed mixed to higher Monday after a better-than-expected jump in US jobs creation, while weak Chinese trade figures fanned talk Beijing will introduce further economy-boosting measures.
The dollar dipped slightly against the yen, following its surge on Friday after the employment figures increased expectations the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates in the near future.
Tokyo ended marginally higher, adding 15.19 points to 17,935.64 as a weaker yen offset news that Japan's economy contracted more than initially thought in July-September.
Sydney added 0.70%, or 37.4 points, to 5,372.7, while Seoul lost 0.39%, or 7.67 points, to close at 1,978.95.
Shanghai jumped 2.81%, or 82.61 points, to 3,020.26 — the first time it has finished above 3,000 since April 2011. Hong Kong closed 0.19% higher, adding 45.03 points to 24,047.67.
The US Labor Department said Friday the world's biggest economy added 321,000 jobs in November, 90,000 more than expected and the best performance in almost three years.
The news is yet another indication that the United States is well on the recovery track and will put more pressure on the Fed to increase interest rates before its mid-2015 timetable.
Wall Street rallied in reaction on Friday, with the Dow climbing 0.33% and the S&P 500 adding 0.16% — both settling at record highs — while the Nasdaq gained 0.24%.
"The scale of the improvement in the employment figures was a positive surprise to just about everyone," said Morgan Stanley MUFG Securities senior equity strategist Norihiro Fujito.
"Fund managers are now guessing how soon the US Fed will start ratcheting up interest rates, which is helping to fuel the dollar's continued ascent," he told Dow Jones Newswires.
The dollar pushed higher against the yen in New York, ending the week at 121.44 yen, up from 120.16 yen earlier Friday in Japan.
On Monday the greenback bought 121.20 yen.
The dollar strengthened against the euro, which was also being sold on expectations the European Central Bank will embark on fresh easing measures early next year as the economy slumbers.
On Monday, the euro bought $1.2270, compared with $1.2283 in New York but well off the $1.2380 earlier Friday in Japan. The single currency was at 149.18 yen against 149.16 yen in US trade.
The weaker yen provided support to exporters, offsetting data showing the Japanese economy shrank 0.5% quarter-on-quarter in July-September, worse than the 0.4% first estimated and confirming a recession.
The result highlights the problems Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has in kickstarting the economy just under two weeks before a general election.
Equities in Shanghai continued to rocket after figures showing export rose 4.7% year-on-year in November, while imports dropped 6.7%.
Forecasts had been for exports to increase 8% and imports to rise 3.9%.
The figures are the latest in a series showing weakness in the Asian economic powerhouse.
But dealers expect authorities to announce new measures to reignite growth after last month's interest rate cut.
"The weak exports data strengthened market expectations for policy easing and investors continued to place their money in heavyweight blue-chips like banks, brokerages and property stocks," Central China Securities analyst Zhang Gang told AFP.
Oil prices extended losses in Asia after falling to five-year lows on Friday following Opec's decision last month to maintain output levels despite a supply glut.
US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for January delivery was down 77 cents to $65.07, around its lowest level since July 2009 on Friday.
Brent crude for January fell $1.01 to $68.06, a mark not seen since October 2009.
Gold was at $1,196.26 an ounce compared with $1,203.58 late Friday.
In other markets, Taipei fell 0.21%, or 19.28 points, to 9,187.29. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co closed 0.36% higher at T$138.0, while leading chip design house MediaTek sank 4.80 percent to T$436.0.
Wellington rose 0.13%, or 7.41 points, to 5,529.32. Telecoms giant Spark was up 0.86% at NZ$2.935 and market heavyweight Fletcher Building was steady on NZ$8.50.
Manila was closed owing to Typhoon Hagupit.