Asian markets rise as investors await US jobs data
Asian shares are rising on the back of gains seen on Wall Street yesterday as investors turn their attention to US jobs data to be released later today.
A Reuters survey of economists forecasts US non-farm payrolls to have increased by 149,000 in February, outpacing the 113,000 seen in January.
Markets remained calm in the wake of the European Central Bank's decision to hold back on further easing. However, investors are remain cautious as the crisis in Ukraine continues and still has the potential to escalate.
The Nikkei is up 0.7 per cent while the Hong Kong Hang Seng Index is making more modest gains of 0.07 per cent. South Korea's Kospi is down 0.05 per cent while the Tokyo Stock Exchange Tokyo Price Index is enjoying a 0.4 per cent rise. The Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index is up 0.2 per cent.