Investors assessed trade data out of South Korea, which showed trade surplus surging to $6.7 billion in September, up from $3.7 billion in August. South Korea’s Kospi and the small-cap Kosdaq were hovering near the flatline.
Mainland China’s CSI 300 was down 0.5 percent, clawing back after falling more than 1 percent earlier in the day. Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 1.3 percent. Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 1.3 percent, while the broad-based Topix rose 1 percent. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.8 percent.
China received disappointing September trade data after markets closed Monday. Exports rose 2.4 percent from a year ago, and imports added 0.3 percent, both sharply missing expectations.
On Wall Street, the broad market S&P climbed 0.77 percent to 5,859.85, while the 30-stock Dow advanced 201.36 points to 43,065.22, ending the session above the 43,000 mark for the first time. The Nasdaq Composite added 0.87 percent, closing at 18,502.69.
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