Investing.com - Asian markets clawed back some of their earlier losses in afternoon trade on Friday. China’s stocks turned positive after dipping about 2% earlier in the day as U.S. stocks tumbled for a second day.
China’s Shanghai Composite and the Shenzhen Component opened lower but rebounded 0.6% and 0.2% respectively by 2:01 AM ET (06:01 GMT). Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index also traded 1.5% higher.
Official data revealed on Friday that China’s trade surplus with the U.S. rose to CNY 213.23 billion in September, compared with markets’ estimates of CNY 136.2 billion.
Exports in dollar terms rose 14.5% in September compared to the same period last year, according to the data, higher than the forecast of 8.2%. Imports climbed 14.3%.
"Chinese exports look set to weaken in the coming quarters as global growth slows," wrote economists from Capital Economics in a note. "U.S. tariffs will also be a drag, although front-loading by US importers mean that much of the impact won’t be felt until next year."
Tencent Holdings Ltd (HK:0700)' subsidiary Tencent Music Entertainment Group is postponing its IPO thanks to the recent global sell-off, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Tencent Music reportedly planned to start its roadshow next week and planned to begin trading the following week, but postponed it until November amid concerns of the recent slide in the global stock markets, leading to dumping of equities.
According to the company’s prospectus earlier this month, Tencent Music was seeking an IPO in New York for $1 billion, down from the $2 billion reported in Reuters’ report in September citing sources close to the deal.
The largest Chinese music streaming company owns music service providers QQ Music, KuGou, Kuwo and WeSing.
Down under, Australia’s ASX 200 inched up 0.2%. ANZ Banking Group (AX:ANZ) was in focus after the company fired over 200 staff for wrongdoing.
"We should dismiss people when they are grossly negligent or when they do things that are clearly bad and cause customer harm," said ANZ Chief Executive Shayne Elliott on Friday.
The Reserve Bank of Australia warned that an escalation of the trade war between China and the U.S. is a growing threat to the global economy.
Downside risks to global growth “have become more prominent,” the central bank said in its twice-yearly Financial Stability Review. “Increasing trade protectionism poses a threat to the outlook.”
“Australia would be sensitive to a sharp contraction in global growth or dislocation in global financial markets because of the importance of trade and capital inflows,” the RBA said. “In the current environment, a range of possible triggers could precipitate a global economic downturn,” the RBA added.
Elsewhere, Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.6% and the South Korea’s KOSPI rose 1.5%.