Asia report: Oil pushes markets higher

A rise in oil prices and gains in US markets overnight took Asia higher on Wednesday, with China trade data also showing promising news for exports in March.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 finished 2.84% higher at 16,381.22, with a weaker yen boosting shares. The currency - which had recently caused headaches for the country as it shot towards JPY 106 against the greenback, was last 0.52% weaker at JPY 109.10 per USD.

That was good news for the major exporters, with Honda adding 2.68%, Nissan up 3.39% and Toyota rising 2.52%. Sony declined, however, by 0.4%.

OANDA senior foreign exchange trader Stephen Innes said the slowdown in the yen was not entirely unexpected.

"Airwaves are running thick with intervention chatter and event risk premiums are skyrocketing, as traders debate what's next for the Bank of Japan," he said.

Innes said the central bank needed to step up to the plate, but "given the market's apparent lack of confidence in any BOJ policy, market price momentum continues to favor a move to 105 as the overwhelming percentage of traders continue to advocate dollar/yen from the short side."

In corporate news, shares of Nomura reversed losses of 1% to finish up 1.62%. On Tuesday, its shares climbed 7.43% after reports the bank was preparing to restructure its European and American businesses.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index closed up 1.44% at 3,067.19, while the Shenzhen Composite finished 1.38% higher at 1,962.43.

Data out of China helped to support the regional rally, with the nation’s exports increasing significantly more than expected.

The country’s General Administration of Customs released data showing dollar-denominated exports for March were up 11.5% year-on-year, compared with a Reuters-polled forecast of a 2.5% rise.

Dollar-denominated imports for the same period fell 7.6% year-on-year, less than the 10.2% drop predicted.

The release also showed China’s commodities imports increasing month-on-month, likely leading to a boost for commodity prices. China imported 85.77 million tonnes of iron ore in March, up 16.5% on February; coal imports were up 45.4% to 19.69 million tonnes; and copper imports rose 35.7% month-on-month to 570,000 tonnes.

Energy stocks in China were mostly higher, with China Petroleum closing up 2.63%.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index finished 3.19% higher at 21,158.71. Markets in South Korea were closed for the country’s legislative elections, while Thai traders had the day off for the Songkran festival.

Oil prices retreated during Asian trading. Brent crude was last down 1.45% at $44.05 per barrel, and West Texas Intermediate lost 1.91% at $41.38.

Down under, the S&P/ASX 200 advanced 1.59% to 5,054.70. It was bolstered by the financials subindex, up 1.84%, as well as energy - up 2.57% - and materials - up 3.35%.

Mining stocks were lifted by increases in metal prices overnight. Three month copper was up 2.2% on the London Metal Exchange, with aluminium climbing 1.7% and zinc advancing 4%. Iron ore prices were also ahead, rising 4.6% to $58.50 overnight.

That led to Rio Tinto, Fortescue and BHP Billiton rising between 4.52% and 7.77% in Sydney.

Australian energy plays appeared to shrug off the lower oil prices, with Santos up 4.33% and Woodside Petroleum adding 2.99%.

New Zealand shares returned to their record breaking form, with the S&P/NZX 50 rising 0.8% to a new all-time high of 6,777.92. Construction conglomerate Fletcher Building led the charge, adding 3.2% with local analysts predicting a pick-up in building activity as the country settled into a likely longer period of low interest rates.

The Aussie dollar retreated from the greenback after experiencing a small surge overnight. It was last 0.25% weaker at AUD 1.3408 per USD. The Kiwi weakened sharply during the session, but recovered to last sit flat against its American cousin at NZD 1.4443.