The leading Asian stock exchanges started the week's trading on a strong note, thus taking a cue from Wall Street which rose on Friday thanks to unexpectedly strong American job figures.
In Tokyo, the key Nikkei 225 index had grown by 1.8 percent by lunchtime, while the broader Topix index increased by 1.7 percent.
The same optimistic tone was also seen from Hong Kong when the Hang Seng index added 1.4 percent.
The same trend could be seen in Seoul's Kospi index, which showed a plus of 1 percent.
In Shanghai and Shenzhen, the stock exchange is closed due to a public holiday.
