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Tokyo stocks open higher on US-China trade hopes
TOKYO, March 4, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Tokyo stocks opened higher on Monday on
hopes the United States and China will avoid an escalation in trade
frictions, and with a cheaper yen also supporting the market.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index added 0.93 percent, or 201.77, points to
21,804.46 in early trade, while the broader Topix index was up 0.83 percent,
or 13.38 points, at 1,629.10.
Washington and Beijing are close to reaching a major trade deal that would
see both sides lower some of the tariffs imposed during an often-bitter trade
war, a report said Sunday.
Negotiators for the two sides have made substantial progress and a final
accord is close to being hammered out, according to the Wall Street Journal,
which quoted anonymous sources on both sides.
“The news should be a positive for risk sentiment at the start of the new
week,” Rodrigo Catril, strategist at National Australia Bank, said in a note.
After months of sparring on trade, the US and China agreed in December to
a 90-day truce to work out their differences.
It was scheduled to end Friday, but US President Donald Trump eventually
lifted the ultimatum to increase tariffs, satisfied by the progress made in
several rounds of talks in Beijing and Washington.
“Looking ahead, investors will be closely watching comments by US and
Chinese senior officials over trade,” including at the National People’s
Congress in Beijing starting this week, where ministers and senior central
bankers will speak, Tsuyoshi Nomaguchi, strategist at Daiwa Securities, said
in a commentary.
The dollar fetched 111.94 yen in early Asian trade, against 111.92 yen in
New York and 111.74 yen in Tokyo on Friday.
In Tokyo, China-linked shares were higher, with electronic parts maker
Rohm rallying 2.54 percent to 7,260 yen and industrial robot maker Fanuc
trading up 2.31 percent at 19,230 yen.
Sony was up 0.84 percent at 5,360 yen and Panasonic rose 0.24 percent to
1,020.5 yen.
BSS/AFP/HR/0925