Asia-Pacific Markets Mixed Dragged by China’s May Trade Data

Shares in Asia-Pacific were mixed on Monday as investors reacted to Chinese trade data for May.

Mainland Chinese stocks closed mixed, with the Shanghai composite rising 0.21% to 3,599.54 while the Shenzhen component declined fractionally to 14,862.60. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 0.55%, as of its final hour of trading.

China’s exports in dollar terms rose 27.9% in May as compared with a year earlier, according to customs data released Monday. That was lower than forecasts by analysts in a Reuters poll for a 32.1% year-on-year jump in exports.

Meanwhile, the Nikkei 225 in Japan gained 0.27% to close at 29,019.24 and the Topix index rose nearly 0.1% to end the trading day at 1,960.85. South Korea’s Kospi closed 0.37% higher at 3,252.12.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.19% to close at 7,281.90 while the MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan traded around 0.1% lower.

In other developments, finance ministers from the Group of Seven over the weekend backed a U.S. proposal that calls for firms globally to pay at least 15% tax on earnings.

Markets in Malaysia and New Zealand were closed on Monday for holidays.

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Asian Markets Currencies and oil

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 90.261 following a recent decline from above 90.4.

The Japanese yen traded at 109.55 per dollar, after strengthening late last week from above 110.1 against the greenback. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7734, after climbing from levels below $0.768 late last week.

Oil prices were lower in the afternoon of Asia trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures down 0.72% to $71.37 per barrel. U.S. crude futures shed 0.62% to $69.19 per barrel.