Asia Shares rise on upbeat Chinese trade data

Asia markets closed higher on Wednesday, after robust economic data in China and a rise in oil prices.

    In Japan, the Nikkei 225 finished higher by 452.43 points, or 2.84 percent, at 16,381.22, buoyed by relative weakness in the yen against the dollar. The dollar/yen pair traded at 108.93 as of 2:30 p.m. HK/SIN time, advancing from 108.53 in the previous session.

    The broader Topix index added 33.09 points, or 2.55 per cent, at 1,332.44. Chinese mainland markets also advanced, with the Shanghai composite up 1.86 percent and the Shenzhen composite higher by 2 percent. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index advanced 2.5 percent. 

    Australia's ASX 200 added 79.05 points, or 1.59 percent, to 5,054.70, boosted by advances in the heavily-weighted financials subindex, up 1.84 percent. Markets in South Korea and Thailand are closed today.