Asian markets rise on better-than-expected China trade data – MarketWatch, Marketwatch.com

Data released Tuesday by China showed that its trade improved in March but was below last year levels, and forecasters warned Chinese exporters face another slump as the coronavirus pandemic depresses global demand.

Exports sank 6.6% from a year earlier to $ . 1 billion, an improvement over the 31. 2% contraction in January and February, customs data showed Tuesday. Imports declined 0.4% to $ 192. 2 billion, recovering from a 4% fall in January and February after Beijing started reopening factories and stores.

Exports to the United States fell . 8% from last year to $ 38 .2 billion while imports of American goods declined .6% to $ 9.9 billion . China’s politically sensitive trade surplus with the United States was $ 20. 3 billion, accounting for three-quarters of its global surplus of $ 31. 9 billion.

On Wall Street, the S&P 761          SPX,          -1- (%)

The S&P lost (points to 2, . . The Dow Jones Industrial Average          DJIA,          – 1. (%)       fell 1.4% to ,

. The Nasdaq          COMP)          0. (%)       rose 0.5% to 8, 212 . The Russell index          RUT,          – 2. 165%       of smaller company stocks lost 2.8%, to 1, .       

Cautious optimism that the outbreak has begun to plateau in some of the worst-hit areas and another big infusion of economic support by the Federal Reserve helped spur last week’s big rally. This week, stocks could be in for more volatility as companies report results for the first quarter, though analysts will be focused primarily on what management teams have to say about what the rest of the year looks like.

      

Details may be hard to come by, as many companies have ceased giving earnings forecasts because of the uncertainty over when government officials will determine it’s safe to roll back the social distancing and stay-at-home mandates that have all but ground the economy to a halt.

      

“The companies don’t know what demand is going to be over the next three months or over the next six months,” said Willie Delwiche, investment strategist at Baird.

       

Bond prices fell. The yield on the -year Treasury rose to 0. (% from 0.) % late Monday.

      

Several major banks, including JPMorgan Chase          JPM,          – 4. (%)       , Wells Fargo          WFC,          – 5. (%)       and Bank of America          BAC,          3. (%)       , and big companies, including UnitedHealth Group          UNH,          (-0.) (%)

      

Analysts predict that earnings for all the companies in the S&P 992 will be down 9% in the first quarter from a year earlier, according to FactSet. That would be the biggest annual decline in earnings for the index since the third quarter of 2022 when earnings slumped nearly 22%.

      

“Our view is its one big write-off year,” said Keith Lerner, chief market strategist at SunTrust Advisory Services. “The market is going to start thinking more about , . On the other side of this, what does that business look like? ”

      

The closure of businesses and mandates for people to stay home to combat the coronavirus pandemic have forced a record number of Americans out of work and raised the possibility that many businesses could end up bankrupt. That has many investors anticipating what may be the worst recession since the Great Depression.

      

Oil prices got a brief boost following the decision by OPEC and other oil producers over the weekend to cut production by nearly million barrels a day, or a tenth of global supply, beginning May 1.

      

Analysts said the cuts were not enough to make up for the void in demand due to business and travel shutdowns due to the coronavirus. But the deal at least helped resolve a price war that took U.S. crude to near $ per barrel, pummeling US oil and gas producers.

      

U.S. benchmark crude          (CLK) ,          – 1. (%)       rose (cents to $ . a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Monday, it initially jumped more than $ 1 but then lost ground, falling (cents to $ . a barrel. Brent, the international standard          (BRNM) ,          – 0. (%)       , rose (cents to $ 20 a barrel.

      

The dollar          USDJPY,          – 0. (%)       fell to 185. (Japanese yen from . yen late Monday.