Global Stocks

U.K. stocks closed at a two-week high Friday, achieving a small weekly rise, as bank shares climbed on plans by U.S. President Donald Trump to dismantle some U.S. regulations on the financial-services sector. On Friday, banks climbed on reports Trump plans to sign an executive action to scale back the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial-overhaul law, as part of a push to peel back much of the regulatory system put in place after the financial crisis.

U.S. stocks closed near session highs, with the Dow industrials reclaiming a close above 20,000 and the Nasdaq reached a record. Steps by President Donald Trump to roll back bank regulations and a stronger-than-expected January jobs report contributed to the upbeat sentiment. A led by a sharply higher financial sector.

Most Southeast Asian stock markets edged higher on Monday, with prospects of a rate hike next month by the U.S. Federal Reserve dimming as data showed wages barely rose, softening the dollar and lending support to emerging markets. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 227,000 jobs, the largest gain in four months, the U.S. Labor Department said on Friday, but wages increased by only three cents, suggesting that there was still some slack in the labor market.