Tokyo stocks open higher on US-China trade hopes

Tokyo stocks opened higher on Thursday after the dollar rose against the yen following upbeat comments from US President Donald Trump on China trade talks and the announcement of a US- Japan trade deal. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 0.62 percent, or 137.15 points, to 22,157.30 in early trade while the broader Topix index was up 0.86 percent or 13.86 points at 1,633.94. “Markets have been swayed by the president’s remarks every day… In the latest move, sentiment got a boost from the president’s positive remarks” on trade, said Makoto Sengoku, market analyst at Tokai Tokyo Research Institute. “It eased worries for now that the spat would weigh on the global economy,” he told AFP. On Wednesday, Trump said a deal with China could come sooner than expected, lifting US indices. The dollar was trading at 107.62 yen on early Thursday, slightly down from 107.77 yen in New York on Wednesday but up from 107.31 yen when Tokyo closed for Wednesday. A US-Japan trade deal announced in New York also helped shore up Tokyo stocks, Sengoku said.

In the deal, Japan will cut tariffs for $7 billion in US farm exports while Washington has agreed to cut US tariffs on some Japanese agricultural goods and to ease tariff rate quotas on the country’s beef. The announcement did not resolve the thorny matter of US threats to impose tariffs on auto imports but Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he and Trump agreed that a year-old understanding to hold off for now remained in force. “New auto tariffs have been averted at least for now, giving a relief,” Sengoku said. In Tokyo trade, automakers were higher with Toyota up 1.02 percent at 7.417 yen and Nissan up 1.20 percent at 714 yen. Nintendo rallied 1.57 percent to 41,160 yen, recovering some ground after the previous day’s sharp drops on underwhelming initial sales for its new Switch Lite console.