Asian stocks were modestly higher on Monday after solid U.S. jobs data underscored a steady economic recovery in the world's largest economy, which kept the prospect of gradual rate increases in play.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average was recently up 0.3%. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was 0.5% higher. New Zealand's NZX-50 was up 0.2%. South Korea's Kospi was 0.1% higher.

On Friday, data showed that U.S. employers added 215,000 jobs in March, which was largely in line with expectations, with growth in nearly every domestically oriented sector. The unemployment rate edged up to 5%, though that was largely due to more people joining the labor force.

The U.S. jobs figures were "neutral," said Mitsushige Akino, chief fund manager at Ichiyoshi Investment Management. "They weren't good enough to raise speculation for faster U.S. rate increases. Nor were they bad enough to stoke concerns about a worsening of the economy."

Concerns about a U.S. recession continue to recede, providing a tailwind for stocks in Asia. Despite steady U.S. job growth, few investors expect the U.S. Federal Reserve to rush to raise rates as long as inflation remains modest.

Some declines in the U.S. dollar against the yen, meanwhile, are weighing on shares of Japanese exporters, particularly auto makers.

Toyota Motor Corp. was down 2.3%. Mazda Motor Corp. was 5.2% lower.

The dollar was recently at ¥ 111.47, down from ¥ 111.72 late Friday in New York. The Australian dollar was at US$0.7669, compared with US$0.7675.

Markets in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan are closed for a holiday.

Write to Kosaku Narioka at kosaku.narioka@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 03, 2016 22:25 ET (02:25 GMT)