Investing.com – Asian equities were mostly higher in afternoon trade on Wednesday. Reports suggested that China offered to increase buying of U.S. goods by $25 billion this year.
Citing people familiar with the matter, the reports said China would step up purchases of crude oil, coal and farm products.
China’s Shanghai Composite and the SZSE Component underperformed their regional peers and fell 0.1% and 0.2% respectively by 1:33AM ET (05:33 GMT).
ZTE Corp (HK:0763) made headlines following reports that the company has signed a preliminary agreement that would lift a ban on buying from U.S. suppliers. The agreement includes a $1 billion penalty against the company plus $400 million in escrow to cover any future violations, reports said.
The company ceased most of its operations since April after a seven-year ban was imposed as the company was found illegally shipping goods to Iran and North Korea.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.4% in afternoon trade. Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday that the country’s GDP advanced 1% from the prior quarter, compared with the forecasted 0.9% gain. The economy expanded at an annual pace of 3.1%, also beating estimates for a 2.8% increase.
Meanwhile, Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.4%. Official data showed on Wednesday that Japanese workers’ real wages were unchanged in April from the same period last year, compared to a revised 0.7% annual increase in March.
Elsewhere, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 0.7%. South Korean markets were closed for a holiday.
Looking ahead, the U.S. trade balance is due later today, while Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe would meet with U.S. President Trump on Thursday at the White House to discuss the planned U.S. summit with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un.