Asian Markets Track Wall Street Higher

Asian stock markets are trading mostly higher on Monday, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street on Friday, as weaker-than-expected U.S. monthly jobs data led to optimism the US Fed may hold off on raising interest rates later this month. However, spiking bond yields and heightened uncertainty in the Middle East conflict weighed on market sentiment. Asian markets closed mixed on Friday.

Saudi-backed forces in Yemen have launched a full-scale military operation to retake areas controlled by the Houthis, an Iran-backed group. The Houthis seized control of Bab el-Mandeb, a strategic chokepoint between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. Saudi Arabia had been using this route to export oil while avoiding the Strait of Hormuz.