Hong Kong's March goods export and import volumes rose 28.8% and 34.6% year on year, respectively, the city's Census and Statistics Department said Thursday.
Export and import prices rose 5.4% and 5.3% compared with a year earlier, the statement said.
For the first quarter of 2026, Hong Kong's goods export and import volumes rose 28.8% and 34.6% year on year, respectively, while prices for both exports and imports rose 4.3%, the department said.
Asian stock markets wobbled in mixed trading Thursday, as investors monitored the ongoing summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese Leader Xi Jinping, and evaluated earnings results.Shanghai and Tokyo finished in the red, Hong Kong was flat, but other regional exchanges gained ground. Seoul's KOSPI rose 1.8% to strike a fresh record zenith.In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened evenly near an all-time high but declined in trading, finishing off 1% as traders mulled comments by a Bank of Japan official that interest rates should be raised "at the earliest stage possible."The benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 618.06 to 62,654.05, as losing issues outnumbered gainers 133 to 91.Leading the upside was Tokai Carbon, up 18.5%, while Fukikura declined 19.1%, with both moves following earnings releases.In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index opened higher but lagged and closed essentially flat after China's Xi Jinping told President Donald Trump that "if mishandled, the two countries could collide" over the Taiwan issue.The broad gauge Hang Seng finished flat at 26,389.04, as losing issues outnumbered gainers 45 to 42. The Hang Seng TECH Index lost 0.4% on the day, while the Mainland Properties Index added 0.1%.Leading the upside was Li Auto, gaining 4.3%, while JD Logistics declined 5.7%.On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite fell 1.5% to 4,177.92.On the other regional exchanges, the Taiwan TWSE inclined 0.9%; the Australian ASX 200 inclined 0.1%; the Singapore Straits Times Index fell 0.2%, and the Thai Set inclined 1.4%. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was up 1.1%The MSCI All Country Asia Pacific Index rose 0.2% on the day.
India's wholesale price inflation, measured by the Wholesale Price Index (WPI), jumped to 8.3% in April from 3.88% in March, according to data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on Thursday.In the same month last year, wholesale inflation was lower at 0.85%.The rise in WPI was attributed to higher prices of mineral oils, crude petroleum and natural gas, other manufacturing and non-food articles, and basic metals.The index for primary articles increased by 9.17% to 202.4 in April from 197.3 in the previous month, while fuel and power inflation soared by 24.71% to 181.7 in the reported month from 153.7 in March.Manufactured products were up by 4.62% to 151.6 in April from 149.5 a month ago.
Business investment in the UK edged up 0.7% in the first quarter, following a revised 2.9% fall in the prior three-month period, according to provisional data from the Office for National Statistics published Thursday.Analysts expected a 1.1% gain for the quarter.On a yearly basis, business investment declined 1.8%, compared with the revised 1.8% increase previously.