Asia-Pacific markets higher as China exports beat expectations

Asia-Pacific markets were higher on Tuesday, following gains on Wall Street that saw both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite rebound from their worst week of the year.

The S&P 500 gained 1.16%, after posting its worst week since March 2023. The Nasdaq Composite also jumped 1.16% following its worst week in more than two years.

Traders in Asia will parse August trade data from China and India.

China's exports grew 8.7% year-on-year in August and imports grew 0.5%, customs data showed, compared to the forecast of 6.5% and 2%, respectively, in a Reuters poll.

In July, exports rose by 7% from a year ago, while imports increased by a more-than-expected 7.2%.

Apple just wrapped up an event at its headquarters in Cupertino, California, where it unveiled the iPhone 16 Pro and the iPhone 16 Pro Max, which join the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus the company announced earlier. These are Apple's more premium phones that have nicer screens and cameras than the regular models.

Preorders for the new iPhones begin Friday and launch on Sept. 20.

Hong Kong Hang Seng index rose 0.3% and Taiwan's Weighted Index was flat. In Hong Kong, shares of tech giant Alibaba rose over 4% after the stock was added to the Stock Connect cross-border investment scheme.

The Stock Connect scheme allows investors in mainland China or Hong Kong to trade and settle shares listed on the other market via the stock exchanges and clearing houses in their home market.

Apple's major suppliers Hitachi and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company shares rose 1.6% and 0.56%, respectively, while Hon Hai Precision Industry — known internationally as Foxconn — dropped 0.87%.

Mainland China's CSI 300 edged down by 0.39%.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 added 0.6%.

Japan's Nikkei 225 advanced