Asian stocks mixed amid lackluster trade on Wall St

World shares were mixed on Wednesday after China reported trade data pointing to a further slowing of its recovery from the disruptions of the pandemic. Germany's DAX shed 0.3 per cent to 15,937.77 and the CAC 40 in Paris slipped 0.4 per cent to 7,183.35. London's FTSE 100 was barely changed at 7,626.60. The future for the S&P-500 was down 0.1 per cent, while that for the Dow industrials lost 0.2 per cent.

Oil prices advanced. China reported its exports fell 7.5 per cent from a year earlier in May and imports were down 4.5 per cent, adding to signs of a slowing of its economic recovery following the lifting in December of anti-virus controls that disrupted travel and commerce. The decline in exports was the first year-on-year drop in in three months, with export volumes falling below their levels at the start of the year.

“And with the worst yet to come for many developed economies, we think exports will decline further before bottoming out later this year,” Julian Evans-Pritchard of Capital Economics said in a commentary.

The Shanghai Composite index gained 0.1 per cent to 3,197.76, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong gained 0.8 per cent to 19,252.00. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index lost 1.8 per cent, the sharpest decline in 12 weeks, to 31,913.74. Analysts said investors were selling to lock in recent gains since prices have risen to their highest level since the early 1990s. In Seoul, the Kospi was nearly unchanged at 2,615.60, while Australia's S and P/ASX 200 edged 0.2 per cent lower to 7,118.00. Shares rose 1 per cent in Taiwan and fell 0.3 per cent in Bangkok. On Tuesday, the S and P 500 rose 0.2 per cent, ending just 0.2 per cent away from finishing 20 per cent above where it was in mid-October. Investors have taken heart as a long-predicted recession has yet to hit. Also, excitement around artificial intelligence has helped a select group of stocks to soar. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up by less than 0.1 per cent, while the Nasdaq composite rose 0.4 per cent, to 13,276.42. Investors are watching to see which will happen first: a recession or inflation falling enough to get the Federal Reserve to start cutting interest rates, which have climbed so high they've hurt various parts of the economy.