Investing.com - Asian shares mostly gained on Wednesday as China surprised markets with better than expected trade data that saw an unexpected gain in exports.
The Nikkei 225 gained 2.41%, and the Shanghai Composite was up a tick from flat in continued volatile trade after morning gains, while the S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.30%
China reported December exports rose 1.4%, far outpacing an expected 8.0% drop and the first gain in six months, while imports fell 7.6%, less than the 11.5% drop seen.
The trade balance came in at $60.09 billion, wider than the expected $53 billion surplus.
As well, China's exports rose in December for the first gain in six months, initial figures in yuan terms showed Wednesday. Data from the General Administration of Customs showed a gain of 2.3% for exports in December compared with a year earlier in yuan terms. Imports fell 4.0% in December in yuan terms.
In 2015, exports fell 1.8% and imports declined 13.2% with a trade surplus of RMB3.69 trillion expanding 56.7% from 2014.
As well, the yuan's central parity rate against the U.S. dollar was set at 6.5630 Wednesday, slightly weaker than Tuesday's 6.5628, the People's Bank of China said.
Overnight, U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Tuesday, as gains in the Technology, Healthcare and Consumer Services sectors led shares higher.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.72%, while the S&P 500 index added 0.78%, and the NASDAQ Composite index added 1.03%.