Nikkei jumps 1%, Chinese stocks rally on trade data
Asian markets gained in early trading Monday after the U.S. removed the threat of tariffs against Mexican imports on Friday.
Investors also appeared encouraged by a vow from G-20 finance officials Sunday to protect global trade despite rising tensions. At the meeting in Fukuoka, Japan, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin had “a candid discussion on trade issues” with Yi Gang, governor of China’s central bank. Mnuchin gave no other details, but said he expected President Donald Trump will address the trade-talk stalemate with China’s President Xi Jinping later this month at the G-20 summit in Osaka, Japan.
Japan’s Nikkei NIK, +0.98% surged 1.1% as revised data reaffirmed first-quarter GDP growth. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index HSI, +2.04% surged about 2% a day after hundreds of thousands of people filled the streets to protest a potential new extradition law with China, which many say encroaches on the rights of Hong Kong citizens. The Shanghai Composite SHCOMP, +0.98% rose 0.7% and the smaller-cap Shenzhen Composite 399106, +1.47% gained 0.9% as data showed China’s exports rose slightly last month, although imports dropped sharply.South Korea’s Kospi 180721, +0.89% advanced 0.9% and benchmark indexes in Taiwan Y9999, +1.09% , Singapore STI, +0.87% and Indonesia JAKIDX, +1.62% rose around 1% each. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was closed for a holiday.
Among individual stocks, SoftBank Group 9984, +2.80% rallied in Tokyo trading, with Toyota 7203, +1.06% and Sony 6758, +1.76% also rising. In Hong Kong, casino operator Galaxy Entertainment 27, +7.26% surged, as did Sunny Optical 2382, +6.37% and oil producer CNOOC 883, +4.77% . LG Electronics 066570, -1.02% fell in South Korea while SK Hynix 000660, +1.68% rose, and Taiwan Semiconductor 2330, +2.37% jumped in Taiwan.