(Corrects reference to milestone to Toho Co in paragraph 8, not
Toshiba Corp in paragraph 9)
TOKYO, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Japanese shares gained more than
1% on Monday, tracking Wall Street futures higher in early Asian
trade, on hopes of a new U.S. coronavirus relief deal before the
presidential election.
The benchmark Nikkei share average .N225 rose 1.12% to
23,672.60, with 212 advancers on the index against 10 decliners.
The broader Topix .TOPX gained 1.31% to 1,638.88.
All 33 sector sub-indexes on the Tokyo exchange traded
higher, with shippers .ISHIP.T , rubber products .IRUBR.T and
textiles .ITXTL.T being the three top performers on the main
bourse.
Shares were lifted by S&P 500 e-mini futures EScv1 jumping
0.6% 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 Japanese 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. Film and entertainment company Toho Co 9602.T soared
nearly 4.5% to post its highest level since September 2019 after
it made upward revisions to its net profit forecast.
Elsewhere, Toshiba Corp 6502.T climbed 3.24% after the
company said it aims to generate $3 billion in revenue from its
quantum cryptography by 2030.