Asian markets fell and European stocks were slightly higher Monday after a weaker-than-expected U.S. jobs report raised concerns that a strong recovery in the world's largest economy was still far off, AP reported. Most of Asia's markets suffered modest losses, while the dollar ticked up against the yen and crude oil prices lingered below $70 a barrel. Investors held back after a U.S. government report Friday showed that employers cut 263,000 jobs last month, far worse than the 201,000 economists expected. The unemployment rate increased to 9.8 percent. The news suggested companies were still relying on cost-cutting to eke out profits and consumers were still hurting and unlikely to boost their spending anytime soon. It also inspired extra caution ahead of third-quarter earnings reports this week that could shed more light on the U.S. economy's health. «Investors were disappointed by the worse-than-expected U.S. report. It was yet another somber indicator that a U.S. economic recovery is very fragile,» said Masatoshi Sato, market analyst at Mizuho Investors Securities Co. Ltd. in Tokyo. In Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 was up 0.2 percent. Germany's DAX gained 0.5 percent and France's CAC-40 was up 0.3 percent. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average lost 57.38 points, or 0.6 percent, to 9,674.49, sliding to an 11-week low. In South Korea, the Kospi dropped 2.3 percent to 1,606.90. India's benchmark fell 1.1 percent, Australia's index was down 0.6 percent and Singapore's benchmark fell 0.5 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 53.58, or 0.3 percent, to 20,429.07 after trading in the red for most of the day. Mainland China markets are closed for a weeklong holiday and reopen Friday. U.S. futures were up modestly, pointing to a higher open on Wall Street. Dow futures were up 50, or 0.5 percent, at 9,485.
