Investing.com – Most Asian stocks are trading higher at this hour following the release of China’s export and import data for March. The region’s equities are again following their U.S. counterparts higher a day after another strong performance for U.S. equities.
In Asian trading Wednesday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 is higher by 0.73%, although USD/JPY is trading slightly lower. Some traders expect it is only a matter of days before the pair hits 100.
On Tuesday, Japanese Prime Minister looked to assuage skittish investors about the potentially adverse effects of the weaker yen. Abe said "We’ll make efforts to prevent (the yen’s sharp slide) from strongly exerting a harmful influence (on the economy)."
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.37% while the Shanghai Composite gained 0.06% after China’s Customs Administration said the country’s exports increased 10% last month, missing analysts’ estimates of a 10.5% increase.
The data showed China’s imports surged 14%, well above the consensus estimate of a 5.2% increase, leaving the world’s second-largest economy with a trade deficit of USD884 million compared with a February surplus of USD15.3 billion.
Surprisingly, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 0.2% on the China news. China is the largest destination for Australian exports and the Chinese import number should have, in theory, been good news for Aussie equities. BHP Billiton, the world’s largest mining company, is among the better performers in Australia today.
New Zealand’s NZSE 50 climbed 0.42% despite NZD/USD climbing above 85 cents for just the third time in three decades. New Zealand stocks were obviously not affected too deeply by the China data. China is New Zealand’s largest trading partner as well.
Singapore’s Straits Times Index fell 0.27% while South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.80% despite continued aggression from the north. S&P 500 futures fell 0.07%.