Asian stocks opened higher on Monday, after a strong US jobs report sent US equities soaring on Friday.

Nonfarm payrolls data showed the US economy created 211,000 jobs for November, beating market expectations. It is likely to have been the final sign for the Federal Reserve that conditions were right for a hike in interest rates in December.

Shane Oliver, head of investment strategy and chief economist at AMP Capital, said in a note that despite the solid jobs number for November, the imminent Fed rate hike is expected to be modest.

"The hike when it comes will be a sign of how the U.S. has recovered since the GFC ; and that subsequent rate hikes will likely be gradual

and tied to progress in lifting inflation back towards the Fed's target."

Oil prices will remain in focus after US crude futures once again dipped below the USD 40-mark. In Asian trade, the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures traded

at 46 cents or 1.15 percent lower at USD 39.51. The internationally traded Brent was down 20 cents or 0.47 percent at USD 42.80.

Last Friday in Vienna, OPEC left its production levels unchanged for the third year in a row despite a global supply glut.

US markets closed last Friday 2 percent higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 370 points or 2.12 percent at 17,848. The S&P 500 was up 42 points or 2 percent at 2,092 and the Nasdaq was up 105 points or 2 percent at 5,142.

Chinese markets in positive territory

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Chinese markets traded higher in the morning session, ahead of a deluge of economic data due this week such as trade numbers, consumer and producer price indexes, industrial production and retail sales.

The Shanghai Composite index was up 2 points or 0.06 percent at 3,527. The smaller Shenzhen Composite was down 7 points or 0.33 percent at 2,240. Away from the mainland, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was up 33 points or 0.15 percent at 22,269.

Finance stocks weighed, with brokerages trading lower between 0.9 and 2 percent. Banking stocks were also in the red.

Shares in Citic Resources were down 2.35 percent after the company issued a profit warning, saying it expected a substantial net loss in 2015 due to lower oil prices and decline in sales of commodity-related assets.

Its sister company Citic Securities reported on Sunday that it was not able to contact two of its top executives. Reuters reported Citic said it could not reach its most senior investment bankers Jun Chen and Jianlin Yan. Business site Caixin had reported on Friday the bankers were detained, though it was not clear why. Shares in Citic Securities were down 2.3 percent.

In Hong Kong, Bank of Jinzhou made its IPO trading debut, becoming the second Chinese bank to do so in as many weeks. It stock traded at HKUSD 4.69 (USD 0.61) during market open.

Japan, South Korea markets back in positive territory

The Japanese and South Korean markets were back in the green, ahead of key economic data due this week. Japan will release its third quarter gross domestic product (GDP) performance, the broadest measure of economic health, and machinery orders while the Bank of Korea will announce its monetary policy decision later this week.

The Nikkei 225 was up 250 points or 1.28 percent to 19,754 while the Topix traded 20 points or 1.28 percent higher at 1,593.

The yen traded flat against the dollar at 123.14.

Export stocks saw a boost in morning trade, with shares in the like of Toyota, Sony, Sharp, and Canon trading between 0.52 and 1.71 percent higher. Other blue chip stocks also traded higher.

Takata shares were down near 1 percent after Japan's transport ministry last Friday ordered car-makers to phase out the use of Takata air bag inflators by mid-2018. Large numbers of vehicles were recalled in the US and elsewhere due to faulty Takata-made airbags that resulted in passenger injuries and some deaths.

The Seoul Kospi saw gains of 6 points or 0.33 percent at 1,981.

Blue chip stocks were mostly up, with shares in Samsung Electronics up 0.16 percent, steel manufacturer Posco up 0.59 percent, and Kepco up 0.73 percent. Shares in SK Hynix was also up near 1 percent.

ASX back in positive territory

The Australian market was back in positive territory after shedding three weeks' worth of gains last Friday. Monday's open was boosted by strong performances in banking and resources stocks but the market lost momentum, weighed by low commodity and base metal prices. The main ASX 200 index traded 31 points or 0.59 percent higher at 5,182 in morning trade.

Banking stocks traded between 0.74 and 1.2 percent higher as a result of improved investor confidence, after trimming some early morning gains.

Resources producers pared back early gains. Shares in Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton, Australia's two biggest miners, traded between 0.02 and 0.5 percent by mid session.

Some iron ore producers felt the effects of prices dropping to a decade low of USD 39.40 a tonne. After opening in the green, shares in Fortescue was down 1.32 percent, BC Iron was down 4.55 percent. Atlas Iron continued to trade 2.78 percent higher while Mount Gibson also stayed in positive territory.

Gold producers saw significant boost to their stocks after prices soared last week. Spot gold traded near the USD 1,082-mark after the nonfarm payroll data reaffirmed the market's belief for a December rate hike.

Evan Lucas, market strategist at spreadbetter IG, said, "Gold has had an amazing week, up 2.65 percent. What's even more amazing was the snap back on Friday after the NFP surging 2.25 percent, which was in conjunction with the USD surge. It was a complete market miss-match; the logical conclusion is short-covering of the heavily short gold paper trade. The positioning in the US bond market and USD suggest this move in Australia won't last long."

Shares in Newcrest was up 3.1 percent, Evolution Mining up 4.34 percent, and Alacer Gold seeing an uptick of 3.75 percent.

Oil stocks, on the other hand, saw declines after US oil prices fell into the sub-USD 40 region. Shares in Santos saw heavy losses of over 8 percent in morning trade.

First Published:Dec 7, 2015 7:47 AM IST