(14 April 2020)DAILY MARKET BRIEF 1: Equities gain as earnings season kicks off.

<p>Asian equities kicked off the week on a mostly positive note on the back of encouraging trade data in China. Chinese exports fell 6.6% in March versus a 14% slump expected by analysts and a 17.2% decline recorded a month earlier. Imports retreated 0.9% y-o-y during the same month versus -9.5% penciled in and -4.0% printed a month earlier. The Chinese trade surplus rose to $19 billion in March, up from $ -7.09 billion printed in February. Due Friday, the Chinese GDP should however confirm a 6% drop in the first quarter. But for now, the market mood seems to hold.</p>
<p>Stocks in Sydney gained 1%, Hang Seng and Shanghai’s Composite advanced 0.65% and 0.68% respectively, as Nikkei surged 2.88%.</p>
<p>Activity in US and European futures hint at a bullish start as well, following a remarkable performance across the US equities last week.</p>