Tokyo: Stocks close higher on US-China trade deal hopes

[TOKYO] Tokyo stocks gained moderately on Monday, supported by optimism over a US-China trade deal.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 0.48 per cent, or 102.72 points, to close at 21,528.23 while the broader Topix index was up 0.71 per cent, or 11.35 points, at 1,620.87.

The United States is delaying a planned increase of tariffs on more than US$200 billion in Chinese exports after "substantial progress" in trade talks, President Donald Trump said on Sunday.

"I am pleased to report that the US has made substantial progress in our trade talks with China on important structural issues including intellectual property protection, technology transfer, agriculture, services, currency, and many other issues," Mr Trump wrote on Twitter.

Mr Trump also said he planned to hold a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping at his Florida estate Mar-a-Lago to ink a deal.

"The market consensus is that a breakdown in trade talks will be avoided," Tsuyoshi Nomaguchi, strategist at Daiwa Securities, said in a note.

China's official Xinhua news agency also said on Monday the world's two biggest economies were making "substantial progress" in trade talks.

"Sentiment is not bad but we need fresh positive factors before seeing shares rise further," Shinichi Yamamoto, broker at Okasan Securities in Tokyo, told AFP.

The dollar fetched 110.64 yen in Asian afternoon trade against 110.75 yen in New York on Friday.

In Tokyo, some China-linked shares were higher, with construction machinery maker Komatsu up 0.93 per cent at 2,851 yen and electronic parts maker Rohm up 1.36 per cent at 7,410 yen.

Some bluechip exporters were also higher, with Sony gaining 1.20 per cent to 5,377 yen and Panasonic trading up 0.86 per cent at 1,053.5 yen.

AFP