Asian stocks extend gains after mixed US data

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Asian stock markets were higher on Thursday after Wall Street logged modest gains on solid labor market data, despite weakness in U.S. manufacturing.

ANALYST'S TAKE: "While this rally will inevitably have a pullback at some point, the forthcoming U.S. non-farms payroll, China's National Party Congress, ECB and BOJ meetings could all help support this rally in the near term," Angus Nicholson of IG said in a commentary.

ADP, a payroll processing company, said private U.S. businesses added a healthy 214,000 jobs last month.

[...] the Fed's latest survey of business conditions in its 12 regions, known as the 'Beige Book,' found signs of trouble in the manufacturing sector due to weak demand from energy companies, the impact of the strong dollar on exports and sagging growth in key U.S. markets such as Europe and China.