The view of Nanjing Road East Pedestrian Mall, the main shopping street in Shanghai.
Bruce Yuanyue Bi | The Image Bank | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets were mixed Friday as investors parsed China’s exports-imports data for April, with focus also on impending trade talks between Beijing and Washington.
China’s exports surged as shipments to Southeast Asian countries soared, offsetting a sharp drop in outbound goods to the U.S. as prohibitive tariffs kicked in.
Exports climbed 8.1% in U.S. dollar terms in April compared to the same month last year, official data showed, significantly outperforming the 1.9% increase forecast in a Reuters poll. Shipments to the U.S. plunged over 21%.
China stocks, however, did not get a boost from the strong data as tariff worries weigh on investor sentiment. Mainland China’s CSI 300 fell 0.17% to close at 3,846.16, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index slipped 0.15%.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 1.56% to close at 37,503.33 and the Topix gained 1.29% to end the trading day at 2,733.49. South Korea’s Kospi slid 0.09% to close at 2,577.27 and the small-cap Kosdaq slipped 0.97% to close at 722.52.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.48% to close at 8,231.2.
India’s Nifty 50 fell nearly 1% as tensions between India and Pakistan escalate.
Overnight, Wall Street gained following U.S. President Donald Trump announced the broad outline of a trade deal with the United Kingdom — the first since the U.S. paused sweeping “reciprocal” tariffs in April.
U.S. stock futures hovered near the flatline as investors hope that the U.S.- United Kingdom trade deal framework signals more progress to come.
Specific details of the agreement remained unclear, and no official documents were signed during the Oval Office announcement.
“The final details are being written up,” Trump said. “In the coming weeks we’ll have it all very conclusive.”
Meanwhile, the three major averages closed higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 254.48 points, or 0.62%, to settle at 41,368.45. The S&P 500 rose 0.58% and closed at 5,663.94. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.07% to end at 17,928.14.
— CNBC’s Sean Conlon and Pia Singh contributed to this report.
