South Korea stocks lead Asia markets higher after short selling ban

South Korea stocks surged on Monday after the country re-imposed a ban on short-selling, while most Asia-Pacific markets took heart from a soft U.S. jobs report that helped reduce interest rate expectations.

Financial authorities in South Korea said short-selling will be banned until the end of June 2024. Short-selling is when a trader sells borrowed shares to buy back at a lower price and pocket the difference.

U.S. nonfarm payrolls increased by 150,000 in October, lower than the Dow Jones consensus forecast for a 170,000 rise. This eased worries that the Federal Reserve will continues to hike interest rates.

Japan’s business activity expanded in October but at its softest pace this year, according to a private survey.

South Korea’s Kospi jumped 3.99%, and the Kosdaq gained 6.56%.

Returning from a long weekend, Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 2.32%, while the Topix added 1.70% to hit its highest level in over one month.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 1.79%. Mainland China’s CSI 300 index gained 1.33%.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 closed 0.28% higher at 6,997.40.

U.S. stocks closed higher on Friday after a soft jobs report drove bond yields lower, and the major indexes registered their best week so far in 2023.

The S&P 500 climbed 0.94% and notched its first five-day advance since June.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained over 200 points to rise 0.66%, while the Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.38%.

— CNBC’s Sarah Min and Brian Evans contributed to this report.