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Key Points

• Stocks in Asia rose on Tuesday.
• Shares of Japanese conglomerate Softbank Group recovered from an earlier drop to to close 5.24% higher.
• China’s dollar-denominated exports declined 6.6% year-on-year in March, Reuters reported Tuesday citing customs data. Still, that was better than the 14% drop in exports expected by analysts in a Reuters poll.
• Markets in India were closed on Tuesday for a holiday.

Stocks in Asia rose on Tuesday as Chinese exports for March fell less-than-expected.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 jumped 3.13% to close at 19,638.81 while the Topix index gained 1.96% to end its trading day at 1,433.51.

Shares of Japanese conglomerate Softbank Group recovered from an earlier drop of more than 3% to close 5.24% higher. The firm announced on Monday that it expected its Vision Fund to book a loss of 1.8 trillion Japanese yen ($16.73 billion) for fiscal year 2019, citing a “deteriorating market environment.”

Mainland Chinese stocks also closed higher, with the Shanghai composite up 1.59% to around 2,827.28 while the Shenzhen composite gained 2.223% to approximately 1,745.42. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index  advanced 0.65%.

China’s dollar-denominated exports declined 6.6% year-on-year in March, Reuters reported Tuesday citing customs data. Still, that was better than the 14% drop in exports expected by analysts in a Reuters poll.

Investors have been watching such data from China as the country returns to business following its lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus, which has severely impacted economic activity.

“On average, we forecast Chinese merchandise export and import growth to be negative this year,” Nick Marro, global trade lead at The Economist Intelligence Unit, wrote in a Tuesday note.

“Pressure on global demand will persist through the second quarter, with a high risk of these shocks bleeding into the second half of 2020, although much of this is contingent on when — or if — the Covid-19 pandemic comes under control,” Marro said.

Elsewhere, South Korea’s Kospi advanced 1.72% to close at 1,857.08.
Shares in Australia also saw gains as they returned to trade following holidays on Friday and Monday, with the S&P/ASX 200 closing 1.87% higher at 5,488.10.

Virgin Australia’s stock, however, was placed on a trading halt pending an announcement as the airline deals with the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.

Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index was 1.28% higher.
Markets in India were closed on Tuesday for a holiday.

Overnight stateside, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 fell for the first time in three sessions. The 30-stock Dow slipped 328.60 points to close at 23,390.77 while the S&P 500 declined 1% to 2,761.63. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite, on the other hand, added 0.5% to close at 8,192.42.

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was last at 99.304 after touching levels above 99.5 yesterday.

The Japanese yen traded at 107.68 per dollar after strengthening from levels above 108.0 yesterday. The Australian dollar was at $0.6409, still above levels below $0.62 seen last week.

Oil prices were higher in the afternoon of Asian trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures up 1.01% to $32.06 per barrel. U.S. crude futures also added 0.76% to $22.58 per barrel.