Sentiment was boosted by a rebound in Japanese stocks on Tuesday. The Nikkei 225 soared 10.2 percent to post its best day since October 2008. On Monday, the index suffered its worst session since 1987 amid recession fears, losing 12.4 percent.
On Wednesday, the Nikkei rose above 2.5 percent, while Japan’s broad-based Topix gained over 3.5 percent in choppy trading.
After the release of Chinese trade figures, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was up over 1 percent, while mainland China’s CSI 300 was up 0.2 percent.
Customs data showed on Wednesday that China’s imports in July grew faster than expected, while export growth missed forecasts. Exports in U.S. dollar terms rose by 7 percent for the month compared to a year ago, missing economists’ expectations for a 9.7 percent increase. July growth was also slower than June’s increase of 8.6 percent.
Meanwhile, U.S. dollar-denominated imports rose by 7.2 percent, far more than the economist’s forecast of 3.5 percent. In June, imports unexpectedly fell 2.3 percent amid weak domestic demand.
South Korea’s Kospi rose 2.5 percent, while the Kosdaq gained 2.7 percent. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.5 percent in trading.
