- Weather may delay launch of mission to study deflected asteroid
- China to flesh out economic stimulus plans after bumper rally
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on US jobs data
- World marks anniversary of Oct. 7 attack on Israel
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on jobs data
- Cancer, cardiovascular drugs tipped for Nobel as prize week opens
- Tunisia incumbent Saied set to win presidential vote: exit polls
- 'Difficult day': Oct 7 commemorations begin with festival memorial
- Commemorations begin for anniversary of attack on Israel
- Tunisia voting ends as Saied eyes re-election with critics behind bars
- Drowned by hurricane, remote N.Carolina towns now struggle for water
- Two elephants die in flash flooding in northern Thailand
- Tunisia votes with Saied set for re-election
- Too hot by day, Dubai's floodlit beaches are packed at night
- A 'forgotten' valley in storm-hit North Carolina, desperate for help
- Italy targets climate activists in 'anti-Gandhi' demo clampdown
- US trade chief defends tariff hikes when paired with investment
- EU court blocks French ban on vegetable 'steak' labelling
- Meta AI turns pictures into videos with sound
- US dockworkers return to ports after three-day strike
- DR Congo to begin mpox vaccination campaign Saturday in east
- Meta must limit data use for targeted ads: EU court
- Oil extends gains, jobs report lifts Wall Street
- US hiring soars past expectations in sign of resilient market
- As EU targets Chinese cars, European rivals sputter
- Top EU court finds against FIFA in key transfer market ruling
- Oil extends gains, Hong Kong stocks resume rally
- 'A man provides': Ukrainian miners send families away as Russia advances
- EU states greenlight extra tariffs on EVs from China
- Hong Kong stocks resume rally, oil dips after Middle East-fuelled surge
- Crude stable after Israel-Iran surge, Hong Kong stocks resume gains
- Hera spacecraft to probe asteroid deflected by defence test
- US dockworkers to head back to work after tentative deal
- After Helene's destruction, North Carolina starts to rebuild
- Dockers end three-day strike at Montreal port
- What next for OpenAI after $157 billion bonanza?
- Israel-Hamas war causes 86-percent dive in Gaza GDP: IMF
- Milan's Morata moves house after Inter-fan town mayor 'violates' privacy
- 'Devastating' storm hits Augusta National but Masters will go on
- Relief in Brazil, Asia over delay to EU deforestation rules
- Oil prices jump, stocks fall on Middle East tensions
- Biden says 'discussing' possible Israeli strikes on Iran oil facilities
- Oil prices rise, stocks fall on Middle East tensions
- Oil rallies, stocks mostly retreat on Middle East tensions
- Phasing out teen smoking could save 1.2 mn lives: study
- 'Welcome relief': Asia producers hail EU deforestation law delay
- Japan PM slated to announce plans for 'happiness index'
- Turkish inflation falls less than expected in September at 49.4%
- Easing inflation lifts profit at UK supermarket Tesco
- Skiing calls on UN climate science to combat melting future
Asian markets mostly up after solid US jobs data
Most Asian markets started the week with gains Monday following strong US jobs data, although stocks in Shanghai were flat after China said it would stick to its strict zero-Covid policy.
Global stock markets and oil prices rallied last week on hopes that Beijing would roll back some of its economically painful policies aimed at stamping out the disease within its borders.
But on Saturday, the Chinese government said it would "unswervingly" stick to its current plan, which involves harsh lockdowns and strict quarantine and testing regimens for even the smallest clusters of cases.
Wall Street equities had enjoyed a boost on Friday from the latest US jobs data, which showed that hiring remained resilient and wages continued to rise, though at a slower pace.
The data, which comes days ahead of critical US midterm elections, raised hopes of a soft landing for the world's biggest economy despite aggressive Fed rate hikes aimed at taming inflation.
All three main US indexes ended around 1.3 percent higher on Friday, and Tokyo shares extended those gains on Monday to end the morning session 1.2 percent up.
Hong Kong shares dipped slightly at the open but quickly recovered to add 1.4 percent -- adding to a jump of more than five percent in the previous session.
Bourses in Shanghai and Shenzhen were barely changed in morning trade, however.
"Last week, the financial market was stirring on rumours of China reopening," Raymond Yeung and Zhaopeng Xing of ANZ Research said in a note on Monday.
But as the rumours about a reopening were unsubstantiated, "it is more likely the market is over-interpreting new information and downplaying old developments", they wrote.
"Obviously, China feels the urgency to normalise the economy... But the political leadership will not adopt 'living with Covid'," the pair added.
"In our view, the availability of locally developed new vaccines will be a game changer".
China is the last major economy wedded to a strategy of extinguishing Covid-19 outbreaks as they emerge.
It is still imposing snap lockdowns, mass testing and lengthy quarantines -- despite the widespread disruption to businesses and international supply chains.
Seoul rose 0.8 percent, Taipei was up 1.1 percent and Sydney was up 0.5 percent in early trade on Monday. Singapore was flat and Jakarta dipped 0.3 percent.
Dashed hopes of a Chinese reopening also drove down oil prices, which had rallied on Friday on the optimism that Beijing could soon change course, pushing up demand for crude.
- Key figures around 0230 GMT -
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.2 percent at 27,528.66 (break)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 1.4 percent at 16,393.36
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.1 percent at 3,068.62
London - FTSE 100: UP 2.0 percent at 7,334.84 (close)
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.1325 from $1.1376 Friday
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $0.9933 from $0.9964
Dollar/yen: UP at 147.21 yen from 146.62 yen
Euro/pound: UP at 87.80 pence from 87.56 pence
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.4 percent at $91.28 per barrel
Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 1.2 percent at $97.43 per barrel
New York - Dow: UP 1.3 percent at 32,403.22 (close)
P.Gonzales--CPN