Japan stocks hit highest in more than a year on trade deal hopes

By Stanley White
TOKYO, Oct 29 (Reuters) - Japanese stocks rose to the
highest in more than a year on Tuesday, as negotiators from the
United States and China moved a step closer to scaling back
their bruising trade war in a boost to the prospects for
corporate earnings.
The benchmark Nikkei benchmark share average .N225 ended
up 0.47% at 22,974.13. 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.
"The rising chance of a partial trade agreement between the
United States and China has changed the mood," said Kiyoshi
Ishigane, chief fund manager at Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset
Management Co in Tokyo.
"This is driving gains in Japanese shares. Valuations are
still cheap compared to other markets, so this will draw in more
funds from overseas."
Indeed, Tuesday's gains marked the seventh consecutive
winning session for Japanese stocks as investors bought shares
of materials makers that export overseas. Shares in the consumer
discretionary sector also advanced.
There were 178 advancers on the Nikkei index against 44
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 6.48%, followed by Sumitomo Dainippon
Pharma Co Ltd 4506.T , up 4.25%, and non-ferrous metal maker
Toho Zinc Co Ltd 5707.T up by 3.71%
The largest percentage losses in the index were healthcare
services firm M3 Inc 2413.T , down 4.79%, followed by video
game maker Bandai Namco Holdings Inc 7832.T losing 3.02% and
pharmaceutical company Eisai Co Ltd 4523.T , which fell 2.13%.
The broader Topix index .TOPX rose 0.86% to 1,662.68,
reaching its highest level since Dec. 4, 2018.
The volume of shares traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's
main board .TOPX was 1.14 billion, compared to the average of
1.24 billion in the past 30 days.