Japan stocks edge higher as major markets in Asia-Pacific are closed for holidays

SINGAPORE — Shares in Japan were set to rise at the Monday open, as many major Asia-Pacific markets are closed for holidays.

Futures pointed to a higher open for Japanese stocks. The Nikkei futures contract in Chicago was at 30,025 while its counterpart in Osaka was at 29,980. That compared against the Nikkei 225's last close at 29,854.

Markets in Australia, mainland China and Hong Kong are closed on Monday for holidays.

US payrolls smash expectations

In economic developments, the U.S. Labor Department reported Friday that nonfarm payrolls rose by 916,000 in March — well above the 675,000 increase expected by economists surveyed by Dow Jones.

The unemployment rate also declined to 6%, in line with the expectations of the economists surveyed by Dow Jones.

Currencies

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 93.013 — off levels above 93.3 seen late last month.

The Japanese yen traded at 110.71 per dollar, weaker than levels around 110.5 against the greenback seen last week. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7609, above levels below $0.756 seen last week.

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