Australia

Australian shares are set to rise following a solid week in US markets.

ASX futures were up 0.4% or 31 points as of 8:30am on Monday, suggesting a higher open.

The S&P 500 rose Friday, finishing its best weekly performance since June.

The broad index gained 0.2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added roughly 115 points, or 0.3%. The Nasdaq Composite eased less than 0.1%.

For the week, the S&P 500 advanced 2.5%. The Dow and Nasdaq rallied 1.4% and 3.2%, respectively, each notching their best weeks since July.

Investors parsed the August jobs report ahead of a holiday weekend. All three major indexes initially rose Friday after the report suggested the economy may be cooling enough for the Federal Reserve to hold off on further interest-rate increases. The unemployment rate jumped to 3.8% in August. Economists had expected it to hold steady at 3.5%. Average hourly earnings, meanwhile, rose 4.3% in August from a year earlier, less than in July and lower than forecast.

In commodity markets, Brent crude oil rose 0.2% to US$88.69 a barrel while gold was slightly up at US$1,940.24.

In local bond markets, the yield on Australian 2 Year government bonds were unchanged at 3.79% while the 10 Year yield rose slightly to 4.04%. US Treasury notes were higher, with the 2 Year yield mostly unchanged at 4.88% and the 10 Year yield unchanged at 4.18%.

The Australian dollar was unchanged at 64.51 US cents from its previous close of 64.51. The Wall Street Journal Dollar Index, which tracks the US dollar against 16 other currencies, edged up to 98.60.

Asia

China shares ended mostly higher after Beijing announced a slew of property easing measures to boost consumption and rescue the troubled sector. Analysts reckon the measures exceed market expectations and should boost investor confidence. China Vanke rose 3.0% and Poly Developments & Holdings climbed 1.9%. Meanwhile, a private gauge of China's factory activity swung to expansion in August, thanks to improved supply and market demand. Insurance stocks led the gains. Ping An Insurance advanced 2.7% and China Life Insurance added 4.8%. Software stocks weighed on the market, with Beijing Kingsoft Office Software losing 1.9%. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.4% to 3133.25. The Shenzhen Composite Index gained 0.3% and the tech-heavy ChiNext Price Index slipped 0.1%.

Hong Kong’s financial markets were closed Friday due to the Super Typhoon Saola.

Japanese stocks ended higher, led by gains in trading houses and electronics markers, as long-term government bond yields declined ahead of US jobs data due later in the day. Itochu Corp. climbed 2.6% and Sony Group gained 3.2%. The Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.3% to 32710.62, while the 10-year Japanese government bond yield fell 2 basis points to 0.625%. Investors were focusing on US non-farm payrolls data and their policy implications.

Indian shares ended higher, with strong economic growth data boosting investor sentiment. The benchmark Sensex ended 0.9% higher at 65387.16. The country's GDP grew 7.8% on year for the three months from April to June, marking the quickest pace in a year. Gains were across the broad, with industrial and financial stocks leading gains. JSW Steel added 3.4% and Tata Steel gained 3.3%. Bajaj Finserv increased 2.1% and Axis Bank added 1.8%.

Europe

European stocks traded mixed after US non-farm payroll data came in higher than expected. The job report suggested labor-market demand is still high, Charles Schwab UK says. "While Jerome Powell recently reassured the market that progress is being made against inflation, he did so with the caveat that if the labor market remains strong, more work still might be needed," Charles Schwab UK's managing director Richard Flynn writes. "Today's report may signal to the Fed that inflation could remain elevated, prompting them to continue rate hikes." The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 was mostly flat, though France's CAC 40 dropped 0.3% and the German DAX fell 0.7%.

The FTSE 100 rose 0.3% to 7464.54 points on improved investor sentiment, helped by gains for heavyweight mining and oil stocks after Chinese manufacturing PMI data came in stronger than expected at 51 points. "The positive development in China spilled over into U.K. markets at the open, with the FTSE 100 moving ahead as investors began to revisit the appeal of the miners in an early boost to the sector," Interactive Investor head of markets Richard Hunter said in a note. Chemicals maker Johnson Matthey jumped 12.7% after industrial firm Standard Industries raised investment in the company while aerospace manufacturing group Melrose Industries gained 2.6%, recovering from Thursday's decline. Oil giant BP rose 2.4% while miner Glencore was up 1.1%.

North America

The S&P 500 rose Friday, finishing its best weekly performance since June.

The broad index gained 0.2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added roughly 115 points, or 0.3%. The Nasdaq Composite eased less than 0.1%.

For the week, the S&P 500 advanced 2.5%. The Dow and Nasdaq rallied 1.4% and 3.2%, respectively, each notching their best weeks since July.

Investors parsed the August jobs report ahead of a holiday weekend. All three major indexes initially rose Friday after the report suggested the economy may be cooling enough for the Federal Reserve to hold off on further interest-rate increases. The unemployment rate jumped to 3.8% in August. Economists had expected it to hold steady at 3.5%. Average hourly earnings, meanwhile, rose 4.3% in August from a year earlier, less than in July and lower than forecast.

"Everything's keyed into numbers related to inflation and ultimately what the path of the Fed is going to be," said Leslie Thompson, chief investment officer of Spectrum Wealth Management.

The indexes came off intraday highs as declines in megacap tech stocks weighed on performance. Tesla fell 5.1% after it unveiled a new vehicle with a steeper price tag than analysts expected. Nvidia pulled back 1.7% after rival chip maker Broadcom forecast revenue for the current quarter just in line with analyst expectations.

In the bond market Friday, the benchmark 10-year US Treasury yield swung, ultimately rising to 4.173% from 4.090% on Thursday. Yields rise as prices fall.

Market participants attributed Friday's shaky trading to lower activity around the holidays as investors take time off. US markets are closed Monday for the Labor Day holiday.

"Trades in a thinner market can get exaggerated," said Jack McIntyre, portfolio manager for Brandywine Global.

Shares of entertainment companies fell Friday after a dispute between Charter and Walt Disney created concerns about the future of the cable-television business model. Shares of Charter eased 3.6% and Disney lost 2.4%. Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount Global, Fox and Comcast also pulled back.

Dell Technologies rallied 21% after the company reported better-than-expected earnings and issued a robust outlook.

Consumer-staples stocks were the worst performing sector of the S&P 500 on Friday. Walgreens Boots Alliance declined 7.4% after the pharmacy operator's chief executive stepped down. Stocks are coming off a weak month of trading, even with a late-August rally. The indexes took a breather from their year-to-date climb as investors assessed the sustainability of stocks' ascent and weighed competing high yields from safer, cash-like instruments.

September is historically the worst month for US stocks. The S&P 500 has lost an average of 1.1% in September dating back to 1928, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

"We're getting through that summer lull. Seasonality isn't playing in our favor this coming month," said Jake Jolly, head of investment analysis at Bank of New York Mellon's investment management division.