06:36 AM EDT, 08/10/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Asian stock markets gained ground Monday, as traders embraced the reduced outlook for pending Federal Reserve rate hikes, following Friday's unexpectedly soft US jobs report from Washington.

Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo finished in the green, as did most other regional exchanges.

Brent oil futures rose 0.9% to $84.32 a barrel, during Asian market hours.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened higher and rose to the close, finishing up 2.1% on the US central bank outlook, and as a weaker yen boosted export issues. Heavyweight technology shares also extended gains.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 1,363.51 to 66,970.22, as gaining issues outnumbered losers 120 to 102.

Leading the upside was staffing-agency Recruit, up 22.8%, while CyberAgent declined 16.7%, with both moves following earnings reports.

In economic news, a summary of opinions of the Bank of Japan's July 30-31 policy meeting revealed that some board members discussed raising interest rates to curb inflation.

Also, Japan's services Economy Watchers Survey rose to 45.7 in July from 44.0 June, reported the Cabinet Office.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index opened higher and held ground, closing up 1.1% as investors banked on lower odds of a pending tighter money supply in Washington.

The broad gauge Hang Seng rose 269.46 to 25,937.49, as gaining issues outnumbered losers 79 to 13. The Hang Seng TECH Index gained 1.3% on the day, while the Mainland Properties Index rose 1.1%.

Leading the upside was Laopu Gold, gaining 12.4%, while China Life Insurance declined 2.6%.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite rose 0.6% to 3,966.59.

On the other regional exchanges, the S. Korean KOSPI rose 0.7%; the Taiwan TWSE inclined 1.6%; the Australian ASX 200 declined 0.3%, and the Thai Set inclined 0.8%. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was steady, and trading floors were dark in Singapore on holiday.

The MSCI All Country Asia Pacific Index rose 0.5% on the day.

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