TOKYO, April 5, 2017 (BSS/AFP) – Tokyo stocks opened higher on Wednesday asthe yen’s rise stalled after global markets tentatively advanced ahead of a key US-China summit this week.
Wall Street rose modestly after data from the US Commerce Department showed the country’s trade deficit narrowed in February.
That helped boost sentiment clouded ahead of the two-day meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping beginning Thursday.
Trump has vowed to take a hard line on countries such as China that have large trade surpluses with the United States.
Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 0.47 percent, or 88.38 points, to 18,898.63, while the Topix index of all first-section issues was up 0.33 percent, or 4.96 points, to 1,509.50.
Trump will host Xi at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida and the encounter is expected to address disputes over trade policy between the world’s two leading economies as well as North Korea’s nuclear and missile development.