Australia and Japan trade higher while most Asian markets close for Labor Day

Australian and Japanese markets are both trading higher even as most Asian markets are closed for the Labor Day holiday Monday.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 was 0.92% higher to end the day at 29,123.18, while the Topix was up 1% to finish at 2,078.06. Japan’s purchasing managers index for April came in at 49.5, its softest contraction in six months, according to the au Jibun bank.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.35% and closed at 7,334.6, as the country saw its factory activity in April contracting at its fastest pace in 35 months, with private surveys from Juno Bank showing its purchasing managers index standing at 48.

Over the weekend, China’s factory activity unexpectedly slipped into contraction territory with its official manufacturing purchasing managers index at 49.2, in contrast to economists expectations of 51.4.

On Friday, the three major indexes in the U.S. all closed higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining 0.8% to notch its best month since January. The S&P 500 added 0.83%, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.69%.

— CNBC’s Alex Harring and Sarah Min contributed to this report