Japan shares end higher on fresh U.S. stimulus hopes

TOKYO, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Japanese shares ended higher on
Monday, tracking a gain in Wall Street futures in Asian trade,
on hopes of a new U.S. coronavirus relief deal before the
presidential election.
The benchmark Nikkei share average .N225 rose 1.11% to
close at 23,671.13, while the broader Topix .TOPX gained 1.25%
to 1,637.98.
Both of the indexes marked their biggest daily gains since
Oct. 5.
All 33 sector sub-indexes on the Tokyo exchange traded
higher, with shippers .ISHIP.T , rubber products .IRUBR.T and
iron and steel .ISTEL.T being the top three performers on the
main bourse.
Shares were lifted by S&P 500 e-mini futures EScv1 , last
trading up 0.7%, after U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she
was optimistic that legislation on a wide-ranging coronavirus
relief package could be pushed through before the Nov. 3
election. But with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in the Middle
East until Tuesday, analysts suspect a deal to be a long shot.
On the domestic data front, Japan's exports in September
fell at a slower pace than in the previous six months as
U.S.-bound shipments of cars started to recover from lows
brought about by the COVID-19 outbreak, suggesting the
pandemic's pressure on the economy was easing. Markets shrugged off data from China showing economic
recovery disappointed in the third-quarter, growing 4.9% from a
year earlier and missing analyst expectations. "(The forecasts) were high due to the market having a slight
excessive expectation of a pick-up trend in China's economy,"
said Kokichiro Mio, senior researcher at NLI Research Institute.
Despite missing expectations, "the economy is recovering
steadily," he added.
Toho Co 9602.T soared 4.47%, after hitting its highest
since September 2019 earlier in the session, as the film and
entertainment company raised its net profit forecast.
Toshiba Corp 6502.T climbed 2.55%, after the homegrown
conglomerate said it aims to generate $3 billion in revenue from
its quantum cryptography by 2030.