Asian stocks hit four-week high

SYDNEY: Asian shares enjoyed a relief rally on Monday as upbeat U.S. jobs data soothed immediate concerns about the health of the world's largest economy, while the prospect of more policy stimulus helped keep sovereign yields near record lows.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan  jumped 1.9 percent to a one-month top. Australia added 1.8 percent and Shanghai 1.1 percent. Stocks in Germany were seen starting 0.9 percent higher, with the CAC up 0.7 pct and the FTSE 0.5 percent. EMINI futures for the S&P 500 ESc1 came within a point of their all-time top.

Japan's Nikkei .N225 climbed 4.5 percent, its biggest daily gain in three months, as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe flagged a fresh fiscal stimulus package after the ruling coalition won a landslide victory in the upper house. "Abe's victory boosted confidence in investor sentiment, and winning a two-thirds majority sends foreign investors a message that Abe's policies will see a progress," said Hikaru Sato, a senior technical analyst at Daiwa Securities.