Asian shares mixed after retreat on Wall Street

BANGKOK (AP) — Shares were mixed in Asia on Thursday as Japan reported strong trade data signaling a recovery in demand from the pandemic.

Stocks rose in Tokyo and Sydney but fell in Hong Kong and Shanghai. The price of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies steadied.

Japan's government reported that exports rose 38% in April from a year earlier while imports climbed nearly 13%, indicating a recovery in overseas demand even as the country weathers its worst bout of coronavirus outbreaks so far.

Exports to the U.S. rose 45% while those to China jumped nearly 34% in a strong rebound after last year's shocks from lockdowns and other precautions taken to curb the pandemic.

While better than forecast, the figures largely reflect the low base from the depths of the pandemic lockdowns in 2020 and exports are likely to rise at a lower pace going forward, said Tom Learmouth of Capital Economics.

“While export volumes edged higher in April, the rebound in exports is slowing and external demand is unlikely to provide much of a tailwind to growth over the coming months," he said in a commentary.

The Nikkei 225 regained lost ground, edging 0.2% higher to 28,098.25, while Sydney's S&P/ASX 200 surged 1.3% to 7,019.60. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng slipped 0.5% to 28,451.83 while Seoul's Kospi declined 0.3% to 3,162.28. Shares rose in Singapore and Jakarta but fell in Taiwan. India's Sensex was little changed.

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 index dropped 0.3% to 4,115.68 after recovering from a 1.6% slide earlier in the day. The benchmark index is on track for its second weekly loss in a row.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.5% to 33,896.04. The Nasdaq fared better than the rest of the market, shedding less than 0.1%, to 13,299.74.

Smaller company stocks also lost ground. The...