China’s Dollar-Denominated Exports Fall Less Than Expected; Japan Shares Leap More Than 3%

The major Asia Pacific stock indexes finished higher on Tuesday following the release of Chinese trade data for March. Stocks also bounced higher on hopes the coronavirus outbreak may be peaking, though sentiment ahead was cautious ahead of corporate earnings as investors worried about a deep global recession.

At the start of the session, all eyes were on China’s trade data as the coronavirus shuttered businesses around the world, crippling demand and economic growth. Some analysts were saying any optimism over signs the outbreak may be peaking in hard-hit cities is quickly being offset by concerns that it may be a while before businesses recover.

In Asia, an expected trade slump in China will reinforce views that the world is headed for a global recession this year, despite an unprecedented burst of stimulus from policymakers in the last two months to shore up growth, according to Reuters.

Many analysts already expect China’s economy, the world’s second-largest, to have contracted sharply in the March quarter for the first time since at least 1992. China reports its first-quarter gross domestic product data on April 17, Reuters said.

On Tuesday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index settled at 19638.81, up 595.41 or +3.13%. Hong Hong’s Hang Seng Index closed at 24494.42, up 194.09 or +0.80% and South Korea’s KOSPI Index finished at 1857.08, up 31.32 or +1.72%.

China’s Shanghai Index settled at 2825.85, up 42.80 or 1.54% and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 finished at 5488.10, up 100.80 or +1.87%.

China’s Exports, Imports Fell in March but Not as Much as Expected

China reported that its dollar-denominated exports and imports both fell from a year ago in March, but they were better than what economists had expected.

China’s exports fell 6.6% in March from a year ago, while imports slipped 0.9% in the same month, data from the General Administration of Customs showed on Tuesday.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected exports from China to fall 14% in March from a year ago, while imports were projected to fall 9.5% over the same period.

The country’s March trade surplus was $19.9 billion, as compared with the $18.55 billion that economists polled by Reuters had expected.

Earlier this year, China reported combined trade data for the months of January and February.

Over the two months, exports fell 17.2% from a year ago while imports fell 4% as the coronavirus outbreak put the brakes on the world’s second largest economy, Reuters said.