Nikkei inches higher; Apple suppliers, chip-related shares outperform

TOKYO, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Japanese shares edged up on
Tuesday as investors tiptoed back into equities, amid signs of a
slight easing of trade tensions between the United States and
China and continued hopes for fresh stimulus moves by major
economies.
On Monday, Washington extended a reprieve that permits
China's Huawei Technologies HWT.UL to buy components from U.S.
companies by 90 days, to supply existing customers.
The Nikkei share average .N225 rose 0.4% to 20,642.72,
while the broader Topix .TOPX added 0.5% to 1,501.95 by the
midday break.
On Wall Street, all three major stock indexes gained
overnight, with Apple AAPL.O jumping 1.9% to provide the
biggest boost to the Nasdaq. .N/C
This helped Tokyo-listed Apple suppliers, with Taiyo Yuden
6976.T and TDK Corp 6762.T rising 1.1% and 1.0%,
respectively, and Foster Electric 6794.T advanced 1.3%.
After speaking with Apple's chief executive Tim Cook on
Sunday, U.S President Donald Trump said the CEO "made a good
case" that tariffs could hurt Apple, given that Samsung's
products would not be subject to those same tariffs. Tokyo-listed chipmaking-related firms also got a boost after
the U.S. Philadelphia semiconductor index .SOX climbed 1.9% on
Monday as Huawei's U.S. chip suppliers, such as Micron
Technology MU.O , rose.
Semiconductor manufacturing equipment maker Screen Holdings
7735.T surged 3.8% and chipmaking equipment supplier Tokyo
Electron 8035.T rallied 1.1%. Semiconductor test equipment
supplier Advantest 6857.T gained 1.4%.
Rate-sensitive TSE REIT index .TREIT rose 0.5%, extending
its winning streak to an eighth day to hit its fresh 12-year
highs since 2007. Hopes for additional stimulus helped sentiment after media
reports said Germany is prepared to increase fiscal spending,
and after the People's Bank of China took steps to lower
corporate borrowing costs by setting a new lending reference
rate.