Tokyo: Stocks close up as trade war fears ease

[TOKYO] Tokyo stocks closed higher on Wednesday as fears about the US-China trade war eased following the release on bail of a Huawei executive.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 2.15 per cent or 454.73 points to end at 21,602.75, while the broader Topix index was up 1.99 per cent or 31.30 points at 1,606.61.

"Investor sentiment improved after media reports on China considering lowering tariffs on US cars and the release on bail of Huawei CFO" Meng Wanzhou, said Yoshihiro Ito, chief strategist at Okasan Online Securities, in a commentary.

Canada on Tuesday authorised the release on bail of Meng, chief financial officer at Chinese telecoms giant Huawei, whose arrest last week sparked fury in Beijing and worries about the future of a truce agreed at the G20 by Donald Trump and Xi Jinping.

Ito added that the Nikkei index was also supported by a weaker yen.

The dollar fetched at 113.43 yen in Asian trade, little change from 113.40 yen in New York but up slightly from 113.10 yen in Tokyo late Tuesday.

In Tokyo, automakers were higher with Toyota advancing 2.22 per cent to 6,895 yen and Honda up 2.01 per cent at 3,082 yen.

Nissan rebounded 0.95 per cent to 924.4 yen, after tumbling 3.10 per cent on Tuesday and 2.90 per cent on Monday after ousted chairman Carlos Ghosn was charged and faced new allegations of alleged financial misconduct.

Sony jumped 3.59 per cent to 5,941 yen and Panasonic was up 3.18 per cent to 1,084 yen.

AFP