Asian equities mixed as China’s surplus declines

Equity indexes in Asia were mixed on Wednesday, following a similar dynamic from Wall Street and as investors kept an eye on Chinese trade figures and Trump’s tour in the region.

Australia ASX +1.70 +0.03% 6,089.10 CLOSED

Shanghai Comp +1.89 +0.06% 3,415.46 CLOSED

Hang Seng Index -32.88 -0.11% 28,961.46 OPEN

Nikkei 225 -23.78 -0.10% 22,913.82 CLOSED

TSEC 50 Index -21.35 -0.20% 10,818.99 CLOSED

Earlier in the session, China said exports increased by 6.9 percent year-over-year in October, falling short from an initially estimated 7.2 percent build. Imports were up by 17.2 percent, above the 16 percent growth forecast. The trade surplus dropped to $26.2 billion from $28.08 billion.

Meanwhile, attention was also directed to President Donald Trump, who spoke at the Korean National Assembly on Wednesday before moving forward with his trip.

The North Korean crisis continues to take the leading role in his speech. The Republican leader said Kim Jong Un’s regime should sit down and negotiate a deal about the nuclear programme, but reassured the US counts on its full military capabilities to address any threat.

"The weapons you are acquiring are not making you safer, they are putting your regime in grave danger," said Trump referring to Pyongyang's leader.

"The longer we wait, the greater the danger grows, and the fewer the options become. To those nations that choose to ignore this threat, or worse still, to enable it, the weight of this crisis is on your conscious."

On Tuesday, US markets ended mixed as market participants digested rumors that entertainment giant Disney had been in discussions with 21st Century Fox over an agreement.

Investors carefully monitored speeches from European Central Bank President Mario Draghi and Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen, despite no relevant comments were heard.

At a conference marking the third anniversary of ECB’s Single Supervisory Mechanism, Draghi explained that “there is little evidence that negative rates are undermining banking profitability,” and that banks should cut costs to boost profits and not blame the regulator’s monetary policy.

Across the ocean, Yellen was awarded with this year’s Paul H. Douglas Award for Ethics in Government. In a brief speech, she said Fed officials should “demonstrate ethical standards in ways that leave little room for doubt.”

Fort Financial Services