SYDNEY (Reuters) - Asian share markets swung higher on Wednesday as a raft of Chinese data easily beat expectations in a sign Beijing’s policy stimulus may finally be gaining traction in the world’s second-largest economy.

BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s economy grew at a steady 6.4 percent pace in the first quarter from a year earlier, defying expectations for a further slowdown, as industrial production jumped sharply and consumer demand showed signs of improvement.

SEOUL (Reuters) - Oil prices rose for a second day on Wednesday on signs of strong demand from refineries in China, the world’s second-largest crude user, amid tightening supply as producers curtail output and as oil inventories in the United States fell unexpectedly.

BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s economy grew 6.4 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, official data showed on Wednesday, above expectations and steady from the previous quarter, helped by sharply higher factory production.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s exports fell for a fourth straight month in March as China-bound shipments slumped again, reinforcing growing anxiety that weak external demand may have knocked the economy into contraction in the first quarter.

BEIJING (Reuters) - China is expected to report on Wednesday that economic growth slowed to its weakest pace in at least 27 years in the first quarter, as policymakers seek to head off a sharper slowdown that could stoke job losses.