Japanese stocks up sharply, China-linked shares climb on trade optimism

* Nikkei gains 1.19%, up 1.4% on the week
* Fanuc, Komatsu and other China-linked shares advance
* Exporters lifted as yen weakens to one-week low vs dollar

By Shinichi Saoshiro
TOKYO, Aug 30 (Reuters) - Japanese stocks rallied on Friday
on signs the United States and China might resume full-scale
negotiations ahead of an approaching deadline for additional
U.S. tariffs.
Chinese commerce ministry spokesman Gao Feng told reporters
on Thursday that Beijing hopes Washington can cancel the planned
tariff increase to avoid an escalation in the trade war. U.S.
President Donald Trump said some discussions took place on
Thursday, with more talks scheduled. The Nikkei index .N225 ended the day up 1.19% at
20,704.37, turning from a small 0.09% loss on Thursday for an
overall 1.4% gain on the week.
"It should be known that both the U.S. and Japanese markets
are thin and the gains are driven mostly by short-covering,"
said Norihiro Fujito, chief investment strategist at Mitsubishi
UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities.
"The Chinese commerce ministry's stance on tariffs is worth
noting but profit taking pressure will build along with further
gains."
Shares linked to China gained on the hopeful signs for
U.S.-China trade talks, which have waxed and waned over the past
months and kept global markets on edge.
Hitachi Construction Machinery Co 6305.T and Komatsu Ltd
6301.T rallied 2.2% and 2%, respectively.
Robot maker Fanuc Corp 6954.T jumped 2.7% and electrical
equipment manufacturer Yaskawa Electric Corp 6506.T advanced
3.8%.
Ryohin Keikaku Co 7453.T , which operates the MUJI chain of
household item stores with a heavy presence in China, climbed
2.4%.
Exporters were supported as the yen weakened to a one-week
low versus the dollar. Toyota Motor Corp 8035.T and Panasonic
6752.T gained 1% each and Tokyo Electron 8035.T added 1.7%.
There were 201 advancers on the Nikkei index against 24
decliners.
The broader Topix rose 1.46% to 1,511.86.
The stocks that gained the most among the top 30 core Topix
names were Hitachi Ltd 6501.T , which rose 3.1%, followed by
SoftBank Group Corp's 9984.T 2.9% rise.
The underperformers among the Topix 30 were Mitsubishi
Estate Co 8802.T which declined 0.6% and Seven & i Holdings Co
3382.T , off 0.1%.
The volume of shares traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's
main board was 1.21 billion, compared to the average of 1.11
billion yen in the past 30 days.