Japanese Shares Climb on Soft US Jobs Data

The Nikkei 225 Index jumped more than 2% toward 70,000 on Monday, reaching a three-month high as weaker-than-expected US jobs data eased pressure on the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates further. Still, traders remained cautious amid elevated bond yields and heightened uncertainty in the Middle East. Domestically, investors are looking ahead to a series of economic reports this week, including wage growth, household spending and consumer confidence data. In corporate news, SoftBank Group Corp. chief Masayoshi Son, a strong advocate for AI, said he's also concerned about safety risks as machines rapidly gain new capabilities, while urging countries to build trust and work together to harness the technology. Technology and AI-related stocks led the gains, including Kioxia Holdings (1.3%), Advantest (4.4%), SoftBank Group (3.3%), Tokyo Electron (3.2%) and Taiyo Yuden (3%).