Japanese stocks extend rally on U.S.-China trade deal hopes

By Stanley White
TOKYO, Oct 29 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei index rose to the
highest in more than a year on Tuesday as optimism that the
United States and China can scale back their bruising trade war
buoyed hopes for higher corporate earnings.
By 0145 GMT, the Nikkei benchmark share average .N225 was
up 0.48% at 22,977.95. It earlier rose to 23,008.43, the highest
since Oct. 11, 2018. So far it is up 14.25% for the year.
Investors flocked to riskier assets after U.S. President
Donald Trump said on Monday he expected to sign a significant
part of the trade deal with China ahead of schedule but did not
elaborate on the timing.
Leaders of the world's two biggest economies are working to
agree on the text for a "Phase 1" trade agreement announced by
Trump on Oct. 11. Trump has said he hopes to sign the deal with
China's President Xi Jinping next month at a summit in Chile.
Japanese stocks rose for a seventh consecutive trading
session as investors bought shares of materials makers that
export overseas. Shares in the consumer discretionary sector
also rose.
There were 184 advancers on the Nikkei index against 35
decliners on Tuesday.
The largest percentage gainers in the index were Nitto Denko
Corp 6988.T , a maker of materials for chips and automotive
products, which rose 5.24%, followed by Sumitomo Dainippon
Pharma Co Ltd 4506.T , up 3.59%, and Mazda Motor Corp 7261.T
up 3.24%.
The largest percentage losses in the index were healthcare
services firm M3 Inc 2413.T , down 3.93%, followed by
semiconductor equipment maker Advantest Corp 6857.T , down
2.44%, and pharmaceutical company Eisai Co Ltd 4523.T , which
fell 2.02%.
The broader Topix index .TOPX rose 0.95% to 1,664.06,
reaching its highest level since Dec. 4, 2018.
The volume of shares traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's
main board .TOPX was 0.56 billion, compared to the average of
1.24 billion in the past 30 days.