Monday morning in Asia, the New Zealand dollar soared against its major counterparts as Asian stocks climbed as a better-than-expected U.S. jobs data on Friday spurred investor sentiment. The NZ dollar jumped to near a 4-week high against the greenback and a 4-day high against the aussie.
Thus far, Japan's Nikkei 225 index rose 1.5%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng climbed 1.2%, China's Shangai composite index soared 0.9%, New Zealand's NZX 50 index gained 1%, South Korea's Kospi advanced 0.4% and Taiwan's main index edged up 0.8%. Australia's S&P 200 index and the All Ordinaries index climbed 0.4% each.
Employment in the month of August fell by much less than economists had been expecting, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Friday, with the report also showing a much smaller than previously reported drop in employment in July.
The report showed that non-farm payroll employment fell by 54,000 jobs in August, matching the revised decrease in jobs seen in July. Economists had expected employment to fall by about 120,000 jobs compared to the loss of 131,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.
Despite the smaller than expected decrease in non-farm employment, the unemployment rate still edged up to 9.6 percent in August from 9.5 percent in July. The modest increase in the unemployment rate came in line with economist estimates.
The New Zealand dollar jumped against the U.S. currency in early Asian deals on Monday. The kiwi-greenback pair is currently trading near a 4-week high of 0.7224, compared to last week's close of 0.7210. On the upside, 0.735 is seen as the next target level for the NZ dollar.
In early Asian session on Monday, the New Zealand dollar strengthened against the Australian dollar. The kiwi is presently trading at a 4-day high of 1.2686 against the aussie. The next upside target level for the kiwi is seen at 1.254. At Friday's close, the aussie-kiwi pair was quoted at 1.2724.
The New Zealand dollar rose against its European and Japanese counterparts during early Asian deals on Monday. At present, the kiwi is worth 1.7850 against the euro and 60.95 against the yen. If the kiwi advances further, it may likely target 61.5 against the yen and 1.780 against the euro.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.