Investing.com - Asian stocks kept climbing higher Wednesday, buoyed by strong sentiment out of the U.S. and favorable Chinese economic data.
In Asian trading Wednesday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.35% as Japanese stocks, already Asia’s best performers by far this year, continue to climb to and beyond their highest levels since 2008.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng advanced 0.59% while the Shanghai Composite added 0.49% after the world’s second-largest economy behind the U.S., said exports surged 14.7% last month, easily beating the consensus estimate of 10.3%. Chinese imports climbed 16.8%, also easily topping the consensus estimate of 13.9%.
China notched a trade balance of USD18.16 billion, above economists expectations of USD15.1 billion.
Helped by the Chinese data, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 jumped 0.8%. Also lifting Australian stocks is chatter the Reserve Bank of Australia will lower interest rates again, perhaps before July, following the central bank’s 25-basis point rate cut on Tuesday. With a benchmark interest rate of 2.75%, Australia now has its lowest rates in over five decades.
New Zealand’s NZSE 50 rose 0.23%, a move that was also helped by the China news and central bank chatter. Reserve Bank of New Zealand Governor Graeme Wheeler confirmed in remarks before parliament that the central bank has been intervening in the foreign currency market over the past month in an effort to depress the kiwi.
Wheeler added that he has the ability to cut rates further if necessary. New Zealand’s interest rate is currently 2.5%.
South Korea’s Kospi added 0.33% while Singapore’s Straits Times Index jumped 0.80% helped by a strong earnings report from palm oil giant Wilmar International.
S&P 500 futures inched lower by 0.04% a day after the benchmark U.S. index rose 0.52%.
In Asian trading Wednesday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.35% as Japanese stocks, already Asia’s best performers by far this year, continue to climb to and beyond their highest levels since 2008.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng advanced 0.59% while the Shanghai Composite added 0.49% after the world’s second-largest economy behind the U.S., said exports surged 14.7% last month, easily beating the consensus estimate of 10.3%. Chinese imports climbed 16.8%, also easily topping the consensus estimate of 13.9%.
China notched a trade balance of USD18.16 billion, above economists expectations of USD15.1 billion.
Helped by the Chinese data, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 jumped 0.8%. Also lifting Australian stocks is chatter the Reserve Bank of Australia will lower interest rates again, perhaps before July, following the central bank’s 25-basis point rate cut on Tuesday. With a benchmark interest rate of 2.75%, Australia now has its lowest rates in over five decades.
New Zealand’s NZSE 50 rose 0.23%, a move that was also helped by the China news and central bank chatter. Reserve Bank of New Zealand Governor Graeme Wheeler confirmed in remarks before parliament that the central bank has been intervening in the foreign currency market over the past month in an effort to depress the kiwi.
Wheeler added that he has the ability to cut rates further if necessary. New Zealand’s interest rate is currently 2.5%.
South Korea’s Kospi added 0.33% while Singapore’s Straits Times Index jumped 0.80% helped by a strong earnings report from palm oil giant Wilmar International.
S&P 500 futures inched lower by 0.04% a day after the benchmark U.S. index rose 0.52%.