Investing.com - Asian shares gained on Friday as President Donald Trump told his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping that the U.S. would stick with the "One China" policy, easing tension between the world's two largest economies and China trade data eased growth concerns.
China's January dollar denominated trade surplus came in at $51.35 billion, well above the $47.9 billion expected. Exports rose 7.9%, well above the 3.3% expected and imports jumped 16.7%, more than the 10% increase seen.
Earlier China's customs said yuan-denominated exports rose 15.9% year-on-year and imports jumped 25.2% from a year earlier.
Trump however received setback as a federal court declined to lift a suspension on a ban on immigrants from seven countries. As well, investors aere awaiting rating agency Moody's review of Italy (BBB) and France's (AA) sovereign ratings later in the day.
"This does not necessarily mean any ratings actions but should be worth monitoring given how French yields have been rising in recent sessions," invstment bank Macquarie said.
The Nikkei 225 jumped 2.36% as the yen weakened against the dollar. A weaker yen is seen as a positive for Japanese stocks as it makes exports cheaper and increases the value of repatriated profits. The S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.85% as the China trade data aied sentiment.
Overnight, U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Thursday, as gains in the Financials, Consumer Services and Oil & Gas sectors led shares higher along with comments from Trump that he would soon unveil a "phenomenal" tax cut plan.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.64% to hit a new all time high, while the S&P 500 index gained 0.65%, and the NASDAQ Composite index added 0.63%.