Stock market. ASIA STOCKS rose on China

Asian stocks jumped higher on Monday after strong economic data from the world’s two largest economies helped sentiment, while a profit warning from QBE Insurance Group in Sydney weighed on Australian stocks. 

The U.S. economy added 203,000 jobs in November, according to data released by the Labor Department late on Friday, while unemployment fell to 7%, a five-year low. Both figures beat expectations and were interpreted positively by Wall Street as a sign of strength in the world’s largest economy. 

The main data point in Asia came from China over the weekend, as the country posted its largest trade surplus in nearly five years. Exports rose by a hefty 12.7% from a year earlier, while imports rose 5.3%. 

The trade data were a positive sign for both China and the global economy, and it was followed early Monday by inflation data. The country’s consumer-price index rose by 3% from a year earlier in November, in line with expectations for a 3.1% increase. 

The Nikkei Average jumped 1.9%. The weaker Japan currency helped exporters, as Toyota Motor Corp. rose 1.1%, and Kyocera Corp. added 1.9%. Industrial robotic firm Fanuc Corp. rose 2.3% after Credit Suisse raised the firm’s target price. 

In China, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.5%, and the Shanghai Composite rose by 0.4%. 

Elsewhere in the region, South Korea’s Kospi gained 1%, Singapore’s Straits Times Index added 0.3%, and the Philippines PSE Composite fell 0.1%. 

Australia failed to take part in the regional rally, as the S&P ASX 200 turned a modest early gain into a loss after the local mood was hurt by a profit warning from QBE Insurance Group (-1.27%). The index traded down 0.6%.

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