Chinese stocks rise as data shows China's exports in August beat expectations

SINGAPORE — Shares in Asia-Pacific were mixed in Tuesday trade, as data showed China's August trade data came in above expectations.

The Shanghai composite in mainland China rose 0.64% while the Shenzhen component advanced 0.233%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index gained 0.89%.

China's exports jumped 25.6% year-over-year in August, customs data showed Tuesday — above expectations for a 17.1% rise by analysts in a Reuters poll.

The Nikkei 225 in Japan rose 0.79% while the Topix index advanced 0.92%, with shares in the country continuing to trek upward after two straight trading days of solid gains. That comes as investor sentiment is buoyed by the prospect of more stimulus that has reportedly been called for by prime minister contender Fumio Kishida.

Elsewhere, South Korea's Kospi dipped 0.5%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Australia shed 0.13%, ahead of the Reserve Bank of Australia expected rate decision announcement at 12:30 p.m. HK/SIN on Tuesday.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan traded 0.16% higher.

Markets in the U.S. were closed on Monday for a holiday.

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 92.129 — still off levels above 92.4 seen last week.

The Japanese yen traded at 109.76 per dollar, stronger than levels above 110.1 seen against the greenback last week. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7444, largely holding on to gains after rising from below $0.738 last week.

Oil prices were mixed in the morning of Asia trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures rising 0.44% to $72.54 per barrel. U.S. crude futures dipped 0.25% to $69.12 per barrel.