Stock market today: Asian shares echo Wall Street rally as investors gauge inflation data

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.2% to 17,234.09 after China’s customs office reported that China’s exports grew for a fifth consecutive month, in a sign of growing demand abroad.

Imports fell amid a slowing Chinese economy, growing just 0.5% compared to a year ago, falling short of the approximately 2% estimate by economists.

But exports in August expanded by 8.7% to $308.65 billion compared to the same period last year, according to data released Tuesday, beating economists’ estimates for about 6.5% growth.

The Shanghai Composite rose 0.3% to 2,744.19.

Investor attention is now turning to the latest monthly updates on inflation at the consumer and wholesale levels that will be released later in the week.

The United States Federal Reserve has been using high interest rates to pump the brakes on the economy in order to stifle inflation. It’s expected to start lowering rates later in September, which would ease the pressure on the economy, as it turns its focus toward protecting the job market and avoiding a recession.

In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude fell 84 cents to $67.87 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, lost 81 cents to $71.03 a barrel.

In currency trading, the U.S. dollar edged up to 143.29 Japanese yen from 143.15 yen. The euro cost $1.1038, little changed from $1.1040.

___

AP Business Writer Stan Choe contributed from New York.

Credit: AP

Credit: AP

Credit: AP

Credit: AP