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- Can music help plants grow? Study suggests sound boosts fungus
- Nike earnings drop, says turnaround will take time
- US dockworkers launch mass strike a month before election
- Iron Dome: Israel's key anti-missile shield
- Cranes stand still as US dockworkers fight for 'future'
- GM reports US sales dip, but says EVs grew
- Sheinbaum takes office as Mexico's first woman president
- Webb telescope detects carbon dioxide on Pluto's largest moon
- Stock markets slump, oil jumps on Middle East concerns
- French PM vows more taxes and spending cuts ahead of budget fight
- Germany inaugurates IBM's first European quantum data centre
- Stock markets diverge as eurozone inflation drops further
- France's richest man takes control of Paris Match magazine
- Anger meets tear gas as Nigeria hardship protests fizzle out
- US dockworkers launch mass strike month before election
- Evacuations from Lebanon: what we know
- Feathers fly at Chanel's Paris fashion return
- UAE oil giant ADNOC swoops on German chemicals firm Covestro
- Eurozone inflation falls under 2% for first time since 2021
- Coldplay ticket scalping fiasco sparks backlash in India
- Droughts drive Spanish boom in pistachio farming
- Tokyo recovers some losses to lead Asian markets higher
- Rural schools empty in North Macedonia due to exodus
- US dockworkers launch strike after labor contract expires
- Thousands evacuated as Super Typhoon Krathon approaches Taiwan
- Kenya airport whistleblower fears for his life
- Sheinbaum to take office as Mexico's first woman president
- Scientists fear underfunded Argentina research on verge of collapse
- US port officials gird for strike despite last-minute bargaining
- With 118 dead from Hurricane Helene, Biden defends US government response
- Breeder who tried to create enormous trophy sheep jailed in US
- Qatar Airways seeking 25% stake in Virgin Australia
- US port officials gird for strike as labor talks stay stuck
- As toll crosses 100, Trump puts Hurricane Helene at election center stage
- US Fed Chair sees 'further disinflation' in economy
- Epic Games sues Google and Samsung over app store
- Officials see no shortages from likely US port strike
- UK families of Gaza hostages warn Lebanon attack 'takes focus away'
- Shares in Stellantis, Aston Martin skid on profit warnings
- Dali prints found in London garage sold at auction
- ECB chief backs bank mergers amid UniCredit, Commerzbank talk
- China stocks soar on stimulus, but US and Europe retreat
- 100 dead in storm Helene damage, flooding across US southeast
- China stocks soar on stimulus, Europe slides on automaker woes
- German antitrust watchdog steps up monitoring of Microsoft
- Nepal's urban poor count cost of 'nightmare' floods
- E.Guinea, Gabon clash at ICJ over oil-rich islands
- New blow for UK's Starmer as growth data disappoints
- China's top banks to tweak mortgage rates to boost housing market
Asian stocks up after Wall Street dip on China's Covid-bruised data
Asian stocks rose Tuesday despite a lukewarm lead from Wall Street after weak Chinese economic data showed the deep cuts of Beijing's zero-Covid policy and added to inflation worries.
China has persisted in its strict zero-Covid policy to stamp out an Omicron-fuelled wave, ordering lockdowns in various cities and shuttering factories and ports.
The impact of this strategy on the world's second-largest economy was revealed Monday when official data showed that retail sales and industrial production in April on-year had slumped to their lowest levels in more than two years.
World markets have also been roiled by surging inflation and Russia's war in Ukraine -- leaving investors jittery.
"Markets remain in fight or flight mode while rolling the dice on recession odds," Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said.
"Investors' hopes remain elevated that yesterday's worse than expected Chinese outruns could prove to be a 'whatever it takes' moment, and local policymakers will step hard on the stimulus pedal."
Authorities in Shanghai -- China's biggest city -- over the weekend announced they will reopen in stages, news that provided some cheer to Asian markets.
China also announced measures to help young people find jobs -- as the urban unemployment rate rose to its highest in over two years -- while officials have lowered the mortgage rate for first-time homebuyers.
On Tuesday, Asia markets opened higher with Hong Kong leading the way -- the Hang Sang Index rose more than two percent.
- Commodities concerns -
In commodities trade, wheat prices soared to a record after major producer India banned its export because of a heatwave hitting production.
New Delhi said the move was needed to protect the food security of its 1.4 billion people in the face of lower production and steep global prices.
Global wheat prices had already surged on tight supply concerns since Russia's February invasion of agricultural powerhouse Ukraine, which previously accounted for 12 percent of world exports.
By Monday's close of the Euronext market, the price of wheat jumped to 438.25 euros ($456.68) per tonne, breaking the previous closing record of 422.40 struck on March 7, according to trader Damien Vercambre at grains brokerage Inter-Courtage.
Oil also jumped overnight, and by Tuesday morning US crude benchmark WTI traded at nearly $114 a barrel.
"The EU's rising tensions with Russia and the resulting uncertainties over the bloc's oil-and-gas supply remain front-and-centre," Vandana Hari, founder of Vanda Insights in Singapore, told Bloomberg.
"Having said that, with a $10 jump since last Tuesday, it's hard to see much more upside in crude unless events take a sudden turn for the worse."
- Key figures at around 0230 GMT -
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 2.1 percent at 20,375.29
Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.2 percent at 3,080.78
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.2 percent at 26,601.03 (break)
Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 0.2 percent at $114.04 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.3 percent at $113.87 per barrel
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0440 from $1.0436 at 2030 GMT Monday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2334 from $1.2323
Euro/pound: DOWN at 84.63 pence from 84.67 pence
Dollar/yen: UP at 129.21 yen from 129.08 yen
New York - Dow: UP 0.1 percent at 32,223.42 (close)
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.6 percent at 7,464.80 (close)
-- Bloomberg News contributed to this story --
T.Morelli--CPN