SINGAPORE — Shares in Asia-Pacific were mostly lower in Monday morning trade as investors react to China’s trade data released over the weekend.
South Korea’s Kospi led losses among the region’s major markets, falling 1.19%.
Mainland Chinese stocks were also lower, with the Shanghai composite down about 0.1% while the Shenzhen component slipped 0.231%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dropped 0.79%.
The Nikkei 225 in Japan traded 0.2% lower while the Topix index fell fractionally. Australian stocks were also in negative territory, with the S&P/ASX 200 dipping 0.17%.
Elsewhere, Taiwan’s Taiex was 0.13% higher while the Straits Times index in Singapore gained 0.82%.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan traded 0.38% lower.
Official data released over the weekend showed China’s exports surging 27.1% in October as compared with a year ago. That was higher than the 24.5% growth forecast by analysts in a Reuters poll.
Oil prices were higher in the morning of Asia trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures up 1.52% to $84 per barrel. U.S. crude futures gained 1.45% to $82.45 per barrel.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 94.279 after recently declining from levels above 94.5.
The Japanese yen traded at 113.58 per dollar, stronger than levels above 114 seen against the greenback last week. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7392 after last week’s drop from above $0.75.
