Asian shares rose on Thursday, shrugging off weak US data overnight that raised concerns ahead of Friday’s key employment figures, as investors covered positions ahead of the Easter holidays.

Most US markets will be closed on Friday, with some European markets will be closed from Friday to Monday and reopen on Tuesday.

Asia-Pacific shares

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up about 0.5 per cent, ignoring modest overnight losses on Wall Street.

Australian shares rose on growing expectations that the Reserve Bank of Australia will announce its second rate cut of 2015 when it meets on Tuesday, the first trading day after markets close for the Easter week-end. Debt markets imply a 77 per cent chance of a quarter-point easing.

Japan’s Nikkei stock average was up 1.3 per cent, after skidding to a three-week low in the previous session.

“Hedge funds are seen covering their short positions as the Nikkei fell sharply this week,’’ said Norihiro Fujito, senior investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities.

US jobs data

On Wednesday, the ADP National Employment Report had showed that US private employers added 189,000 jobs last month, falling well short of economists’ expectations for a rise of 225,000 jobs. The figure was the weakest since January 2014.

Friday’s non-farm payrolls are expected to show an increase of 245,000 jobs in March, following a gain of 290,000 in February, according to economists polled by Reuters.

Separate data had on Wednesday showed the pace of US manufacturing growth in March slowed to its slowest in nearly two years.

Dollar slumps

The dollar slumped after the data as it reinforced concerns that the currency's recent rally has weighed on exports. The data also raised bets the Federal Reserve might not hike interest rates until late 2015.

"Slower US growth and softer inflation have given the Fed reasons to delay and flatten its rate hiking path,’’ strategists at Barclays said in a note to clients.

“These developments have caught the USD a bit ahead of itself, but given the recent correction, we expect it to stabilise around current levels. We think the USD is likely to take a break before resuming its uptrend at a slower pace,’’ they said.

The greenback was down about 0.1 per cent on the day at 119.62 yen, while the euro was nearly flat on the day at $1.0761.

The euro was bolstered by Wednesday’s data showing manufacturing activity across the euro zone is accelerating.

Crude oil, gold

Oil prices dropped, taking back some of the sharp gains made in the previous session after US crude output fell for the first time in two months and the government announced a smaller-than-feared rise in weekly stockpiles.

US crude futures shed 1.2 per cent to $49.49 after surging more than 5 per cent on Wednesday. Brent was down 1.1 per cent at $56.47 after closing up 3.6 per cent.

Gold hovered slightly above $1,200 an ounce, clinging to gains from the prior session when it rose the most in two months on the weak US economic data.

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