Tokyo: Shares close slightly higher

[TOKYO] Tokyo stocks shrugged off early losses following a choppy US session and closed slightly higher on Tuesday (Nov 16) with investors looking for fresh clues.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index advanced 0.11 per cent or 31.32 points to end at 29,808.12, while the broader Topix index climbed 0.11 per cent or 2.31 points to 2,050.83.

"The Nikkei index rose by 200 points at one moment after the US-China talks began," Okasan Online Securities said.

"But the gains narrowed on profit-taking as the Nikkei almost hit the 30,000 level," it said, adding that the market lacked direction.

US President Joe Biden and China's Xi Jinping held talks during Tokyo trading hours at a virtual summit aimed at calming tensions over Taiwan and other flashpoints.

The 2 leaders have spoken by phone twice since Biden's inauguration in January, but with Xi not travelling abroad because of the pandemic, an online video meeting was the only option short of an in-person summit.

Mizuho Securities said investors were also eyeing a US retail sales report due later in the day.

In Tokyo trading, SoftBank Group gained 1.61 per cent to 7,113 yen while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing was up 0.13 per cent to 75,940 yen.

Toyota jumped 1.87 per cent to 2,141.5 yen while Nissan lost 1.24 per cent to 640.7 yen and Honda sank 0.21 per cent to 3,313 yen. Sony grew 1.59 per cent to 14,320 yen.

Steelmakers were mixed after Japan and the United States agreed to start talks on steel and aluminium tariffs on imports from Japan.

Nippon Steel fell 0.73 per cent to 1,901 yen and JFE Holdings tumbled 1.02 per cent to 1,445 yen.

The dollar fetched 114.17 yen in Asian trade, against 114.12 yen in New York late Monday (Nov 15).

AFP