U.S. stock indices rose on Friday amid rebounding oil prices, but posted declines over the week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 313 points, or 2%, to 15,973.84 (-1.4% over the week). The S&P 500 climbed 35.69 points, or 2%, to 1,864.77 (-0.8% over the week). The Nasdaq Composite gained 70.67 points, or 1.7%, to 4,337.51 (-0.6% over the week).
S&P's energy sector gained 2.6% in the previous session. Sentiment improved on Friday, but the turmoil does not seem to be over yet. The S&P 500 fell 5.1% in January and 3.9% in the first half of February.
This morning in Asia Hong Kong Hang Seng gained 2.93%, or 536.45 points, to 18,856.03. China Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.72%, or 19.97 points, to 2,743.52. Meanwhile the Nikkei jumped 7.50%, or 1,121.97 points, to 16,074.58.
Asian stocks traded mixed. Japanese stocks surged after falling to a 16-month low on Friday. The latest gains in U.S. and European equities supported today's growth.
Chinese stocks declined after investors returned from a long holiday. Trading was partly influenced by China's trade balance data. Trade surplus came in at $62.15 billion in January versus $60.90 billion reported previously and $58.85 billion expected by economists. Imports fell by 14.4% y/y after a 7.6% fall in December. Exports declined by 6.6% y/y in January after falling by 1.4% in the previous month.