Investing.com - Asia-Pacific shares began Monday's trade on a positive note, following a slight rise on Wall Street on Friday.
By 11:30 am AEDT (12:30 am GMT), the S&P/ASX 200 and KOSPI 200 each saw a modest increase of around 0.2%, while the Nikkei 225 advanced 0.4%.
Australian shares continue to hover near record highs, but enthusiasm about swift rate cuts in the US and Australia has been tempered by the recent robust jobs data from the US.
US share markets ended slightly higher on Friday as investors digested stronger-than-anticipated employment data, which offered mixed signals on the timing of potential interest rate cuts. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 0.1%, the S&P 500 gained 0.2%, and the NASDAQ Composite added 0.1%. However, all three major indexes recorded their first negative week in ten, with the Nasdaq experiencing the largest decline at 3.3% - its worst weekly performance since September.
In commodity markets, Brent crude oil saw a 1.17% increase to $US8 a barrel, while gold remained steady at $US2,044, and iron ore prices fell to $US141.45 a tonne.
In local bond markets, yields on Australian 2 Year government bonds rose slightly to 3.881%, and the 10 Year yield also saw a slight increase to 4.174%. Meanwhile, US Treasury notes were mostly positive, with the yield on 2 Year notes rising to 4.40% and the 10 Year yield increasing to 4.051%.
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Chinese shares closed lower on Friday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite declining 0.85% and the Hang Seng falling 0.66%.
European share markets also recorded their first weekly loss in eight on Friday. German retail sales experienced a significant drop in November, while annual euro zone inflation surged in December, supporting the European Central Bank's decision to maintain record-high interest rates. The FTSEurofirst 300 index dipped 0.2% over the week, while the UK FTSE 100 index slipped 0.4%.