US, Asia markets up as European markets remain closed for holiday

In Asia on Monday the markets that were open saw significant gains on the session. In Singapore, the Straits Times index was 1.57 percent higher to 3,400. Meanwhile in India, the Sensex gained 2.5 percent to 13,177.74.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 added 1.5 percent to 17,743.76, while the Topix index gained 1.2 percent to 1,738.1. The gains came after last Friday’s employment numbers out of the US, which saw the unemployment rate drop on many more jobs than had been anticipated being created in March. The news helped the dollar in relation to the yen, which in turn helped export-focused shares on the Tokyo markets.

At midday in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.1 percent to 12,574.66, while the Nasdaq Composite had also added 0.1 percent to 2,473.72 after earlier declines and the S&P 500 had gained 0.2 percent to 1,446.09. Investors seemed reluctant to commit after Friday’s news on US employment, fearing that lower unemployment will lead to a hike in interest rates..

In the commodities markets, crude oil prices were lower but metals prices gained ground.

The dollar was just slightly stronger on Friday’s employment figures, while bond yields in the US slid as sell-offs continued from Friday’s shortened session.

European markets remained closed for the Easter holiday, but will reopen on Tuesday.

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