Stocks in Asia rose overnight ahead of the second round of trade talks between Washington and Beijing, due in London later today.

The Nikkei (^N225) rose 0.9% on the day in Tokyo, as the Japanese economy contracted by 0.2% in the first quarter, while the Hang Seng (^HSI) climbed 1.4% in Hong Kong.

The Shanghai Composite (000001.SS) was 0.4% up by the end of the session despite the government reporting that exports slowed in May.

They grew 4.8% from a year earlier after a jump of more than 8% in April. Exports to the US fell almost 10% compared to the previous year.

China also reported a 0.1% year-on-year fall in consumer prices in May, marking the fourth consecutive month of deflation.

In South Korea, the Kospi (^KS11) added 1.6% on the day, while Australia’s market was closed for a public holiday.

On Friday, stocks gained ground on Wall Street following a better-than-expected report on the US job market. The gains were broad, with every sector in the S&P 500 (^GSPC) rising.

This solidified a second consecutive winning week for the benchmark index, which has rallied back from a slump two months ago, within striking distance of its record high.

The S&P 500 rose 1% to 6,000.36, the Dow Jones (^DJI) gained 1% to 42,762.87, while the Nasdaq (^IXIC) gained 1.2% to 19,529.95.

SNP – Delayed Quote • USD

At close: 6 June at 17:00:02 GMT-4