Asia-Pacific markets experienced gains on Tuesday, buoyed by positive developments from Wall Street where both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite made notable recoveries after their worst weekly performances of the year. The S&P 500 surged by 1.16% following its most challenging week since March 2023, while the Nasdaq Composite also climbed 1.16% after facing its worst week in over two years.
The positive sentiment in Asia was further supported by encouraging trade data from China. The country’s exports grew by 8.7% year-on-year in August, surpassing the forecast of 6.5% from a Reuters poll. Imports also showed growth, increasing by 0.5% against a forecast of 2%. This follows a strong performance in July, where exports had risen by 7% and imports had grown by 7.2%, exceeding expectations.
In other news, Apple concluded an event at its headquarters in Cupertino, California, where it unveiled its new iPhone 16 series, including the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max. These new models, alongside the previously announced iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus, feature upgraded screens and cameras. Preorders for the new iPhones are set to begin on Friday, with the official launch scheduled for September 20.
In the Asia-Pacific region, the Hong Kong Hang Seng Index saw a modest increase of 0.3%, while Taiwan’s Weighted Index remained unchanged. Shares of tech giant Alibaba in Hong Kong rose by over 4% following its inclusion in the Stock Connect cross-border investment scheme. This scheme facilitates trading and settlement of shares listed on different markets, benefiting investors in mainland China and Hong Kong.
Apple’s key suppliers also saw movement in their stock prices, with Hitachi and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company gaining 1.6% and 0.56% respectively. However, shares of Hon Hai Precision Industry, known internationally as Foxconn, fell by 0.87%.
Mainland China’s CSI 300 index experienced a slight decline of 0.39%, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 increased by 0.6%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 advanced by 0.1%, and the Topix index moved up by 0.34%. South Korea’s Kospi index saw a minor rise of 0.04%, though the small-cap Kosdaq slipped by 0.4%.
In the U.S., the Dow Jones Industrial Average tracked the upward movement of the S&P and Nasdaq, ending the day 1.2% higher after a significant decline of more than 1,200 points the previous week.
