Global shares advance after China reports surge in exports

BANGKOK—Share prices rose in Europe and Asia on Thursday after China reported its exports surged nearly 45 per cent in February from a year earlier.

KEEPING SCORE: Germany’s DAX slipped 0.1 per cent to 12,234.80 and the CAC 40 of France edged 0.1 per cent higher to 5,194.25. Britain’s FTSE was flat at 7,154.64. S&P 500 futures were flat at 2,722.70 and Dow futures fell 0.1 per cent to 24,964.00, pointing to a downbeat start on Wall Street.

THE DAY IN ASIA: Japan’s Nikkei 225 index edged 0.1 per cent higher to 21,368.07 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 1.5 per cent to 30,654.52. Australia’s S&P ASX 200 surged 0.7 per cent to 5,942.90 and the Kospi in South Korea gained 1.3 per cent to 2,433.08. The Shanghai Composite index climbed 0.5 per cent to 3,288.41, while India’s Sensex added 0.5 per cent to 33,182.66. Shares also were higher in Southeast Asia.

WALL STREET: Stocks fell in the morning but ended mixed as investors reacted to the departure of Gary Cohn, a former Goldman Sachs executive who was seen as a proponent of free trade. The losses deepened after Trump suggested on Twitter that the U.S. may impose penalties on China as part of intellectual property disputes. Cohn, the director of the National Economic Council, was known to disagree with the tariff plan, which has also drawn criticism from Republicans in Congress as well as from much of corporate America.

CHINA TRADE: China’s exports surged in February, partly due to distortions related to the timing of lunar new year holidays, while its politically sensitive trade surplus widened amid mounting tension with Washington. Exports rose 44.5 per cent to $171.6 billion, accelerating from January’s 11.1 per cent growth, customs data showed Thursday. Imports rose 6.3 per cent to $137.8 billion, down sharply from the previous month’s 36.9 per cent rate. The news is a boost for regional exporters given China’s outsized role in global trade.

ANALYST’S VIEWPOINT: “Both foreign and domestic demand look healthy, though imports are not as robust as during the same period last year,” said Julian Evans-Pritchard of Capital Economics in a report. “The bigger picture is that while China’s trade surplus with most of the world has declined during the past year thanks to the stronger Chinese demand for commodities, its surplus with the U.S. has continued to expand.”

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude gained 11 cents to $61.26 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It dropped $1.45, or 2.3 per cent, to $61.15 a barrel on Wednesday after the Energy Department reported that U.S. oil production rose last week. Brent crude, used to price international oils, added 8 cents to $64.42 per barrel. It fell $1.45, or 2.2 per cent, to $64.34 a barrel in London.

CURRENCIES: The dollar dipped to 105.97 yen from 106.08 yen late Wednesday. The euro edged down to $1.2408 from $1.2411.