Stocks and China’s exports

On Monday, stocks in Asia increased despite China’s exports, which failed to meet the expectations. According to the country’s customs data, exports declined in November. Moreover, it was the fourth consecutive month of negative results.

Mainland Chinese stocks barely changed, but the overall situation was quite positive. The Shanghai composite rose to around 2,914.48. At the same time, the Shenzhen component at 9,876.27. Another major Chinese stock index which is the Shenzhen composite to around 1,640.51.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index increased by 0.14% during the final hour of trading. Demonstrations in the city, which started six months ago, continues to affect the economy of Hong Kong.

As mentioned above, China’s exports missed their expectations. Overseas shipments declined by 1.1% year-on-year in November 2019. Analysts predicted that exports would increase by 1.0%.  However, imports rose 0.3% in comparison with the same period of time in 2018. It is worth mentioning that, according to the projection’s imports would decline by 1.8%.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 gained 0.33% to 23,430.70. The shares of index heavyweight Softbank Group increased by more than 1% on December 9. The Topix index finished the trading day 0.51% higher at 1,722.07.

In South Korea, the Kospi index added 0.33% to close at 2,088.65. In the Asia Pacific region, more precisely in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.34% to end its trading day at 6,730.00.

Stocks and trade disputes

The trade war between the U.S. and China remains one of the biggest problems for the economy. U.S. and China reached an agreement in October. However, the date when leaders of the U.S. and China will sign the “Phase one” trade deal remains unknown.

In less than one week, the U.S. will impose additional tariffs on Chinese exports. It means that the U.S. and China should work faster to avoid this scenario. The continued decline in Chinese trade shows that trade disputes with the U.S. had a serious impact on China’s exports.