Global markets are higher in the wake of a solid U.S. jobs report and encouraging Japanese election results
Markets in Asia finished comfortably higher following Friday's
strong jobs report in the U.S. Also boosting stocks were election results in Japan, where Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Liberal Democratic Party easily won additional seats in the upper house, increasing the chance for Abe's dovish economic policies to be pushed through. The Nikkei finished the session up nearly 4% -- its biggest one-day surge since March 2 -- as the yen cooled.
Elsewhere, a slide in crude oil prices did little to weigh on stocks. Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended 1.5% higher, the South Korean Kospi added 1.3%, and China's Shanghai Composite climbed 0.3%, despite lower-than-forecast inflation data.
Stocks in Europe are also up at midday, as traders cheer
Wall Street's strong Friday finish and anticipate future stimulus measures out of Japan. London's FTSE 100, last seen up 0.9%, hit an 11-month high, with mining stocks among the leading gainers. France's CAC 40 has added 1.4%, and the German DAX is 1.5% higher.
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