Modest gains on Wall Street pushed the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite to record levels, while the Dow closed a fraction below the closely watched 20,000 level, following a December U.S. jobs report that investors interpreted as generally positive. All three benchmarks posted solid weekly gains, continuing the postelection rally on Wall Street. The U.S. economy created 156,000 jobs last month, below the consensus of 180,000 forecast by the economists polled by MarketWatch. However, sharp upward revisions for November jobs number and a slight trimming of October number means the latest payrolls were more or less in line, according to analysts.

Shares in Asia were broadly higher Monday, catching a further uplift from end-of-week gains in the U.S. The advance also follows strength last week in the region, where the Hang Seng saw its biggest weekly gain in three months and the Shanghai Composite SHCOMP, +0.47% snapped a five-week losing streak.