Indian Shares Set To Extend Rally After US Jobs Data

(RTTNews) - Indian shares are seen opening higher on Monday, extending last week's rally, after U.S. jobs data came in slightly above expectations, signaling a gradually improving labor market following brutal winter weather.

The key benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty climbed about 5 percent each to hit fresh record highs last week, buoyed by hefty capital inflows. Market participants expect the ongoing rally to continue in the run-up to the Union Budget, which will likely be delivered by early July. The Budget is expected to give a new thrust to the economy to ensure a return to high growth.

In corporate news, Hindustan Motors has issued 'termination notices' to the some 250 odd managerial staff of its Uttarpara unit as part of a managerial restructuring plan, media reports suggest.

ICICI Bank has overtaken rival HDFC Bank as the biggest employer in the private banking space with more than 72,000 employees, the PTI reported.

State-run oil marketing firm IOC announced that it would roll out the SMS/IVRS-based automated cooking gas cylinder refill booking system across Kerala by this month end.

Asian Markets

Asian stocks are trading mostly higher as upbeat U.S. employment data as well as positive data releases from China and Japan bolstered the outlook for global economic growth. Japan's Nikkei Index is rising half a percent, helped by a weaker yen after government data showed the country's economy grew at the fastest pace since 2011 in the first quarter.

China's Shanghai Composite Index is up 0.2 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index is adding 0.9 percent. China's trade surplus soared in May as exports rose more than analysts estimated on firmer global demand while imports fell unexpectedly, official data showed on Sunday.

Shares in New Zealand and South Korea are marginally lower, while the Australian market is closed for a public holiday. In news out of Ukraine, newly elected Ukrainian leader, Petro Poroshenko, who has used his inaugural address to stress that his country would never give up Crimea, will start talks today with Russian President Vladimir Putin's envoy about ending separatist violence in the former Soviet republic's easternmost regions.

U.S. And European Markets

U.S. stocks rose on Friday on optimism about the economic outlook after the May payrolls report showed the economy added over 200,000 jobs for the fourth month in a row. The Dow and the S&P 500 rose about half a percent each to fresh record closing highs, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.6 percent.

European stocks rose for a second straight session Friday, reflecting the twin boost from Thursday's announcement of ECB stimulus action and the solid U.S. jobs report. The German DAX rose 0.4 percent, while France's CAC 40 and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 gained about 0.6 percent each.