It was a low-volume session in Asia today, with markets in China and Hong Kong closed for holiday. Japan's Nikkei settled with a 0.3% loss, as a strengthening yen pressured exporters. South Korea's Kospi, meanwhile, added 0.3%.
European markets are higher at midday, as stocks react to last Friday's
U.S. nonfarm payrolls report and rising oil prices. Additionally, a report on eurozone unemployment showed the jobless rate fell to its lowest level since August 2011 in February. At last check, the German DAX is up 1.1% and London's FTSE 100 is 0.7% higher. Elsewhere, the French CAC 40 is flirting with a 1% lead, even as telecom stocks sell off following collapsed M&A talks between Orange and Bouygues Telecom.
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