Nikkei jumps to 13-month high as U.S.-China trade hopes lift sentiment

TOKYO, Nov 5 (Reuters) - Japan's benchmark Nikkei share
average climbed 1.5% to 13-month highs on Tuesday after a long
weekend, as fresh hopes for a U.S.-China trade deal and upbeat
Wall Street stocks lifted investor sentiment.
Driven by widespread gains, the Nikkei average .N225 rose
to 23,193.66 by the midday break, after hitting an intra-day
high earlier of 23,215.48, its peak since Oct. 10 of last year.
The broader Topix .TOPX advanced 1.2% to 1,686.81, its highest
level in 11 months.
On Monday, all three major stock indexes on Wall Street
finished at record highs on increasing signs the United States
and China are inching closer to a truce in their trade war and
on optimism the U.S. economy is well poised for solid
consumer-driven growth. .N/C
U.S. S&P 500 futures ESc1 gained a further 0.3% in early
Asian trade on Tuesday after the Financial Times reported that
the United States is considering dropping some tariffs on China.
The report came after Beijing and Washington spoke of
progress in trade talks on Friday and U.S. Commerce Secretary
Wilbur Ross said licenses for U.S. companies to sell components
to China's Huawei Technologies will come "very shortly".
On the data front, U.S. non-farm payrolls released on Friday
slowed less than expected in October as the drag from a strike
at General Motors GM.N was offset by gains elsewhere, offering
some assurance that consumers would continue to support the
slowing economy. In Tokyo, China- and semiconductor-related companies led the
gains on Tuesday.
Construction machinery makers Komatsu 6301.T and Hitachi
Construction 6305.T climbed 4.8% and 4.7%, respectively, while
Kobe Steel 55406.T added 2.6%.
Chip-related SUMCO 3436.T , Advantest 6857.T and Tokyo
Electron 8035.T rose 4.2%, 3.5% and 2.2%, respectively.
The Nikkei's heavyweight SoftBank Group 9984.T gained 2.7%
to become the second-most traded stock on the Tokyo's main
board.
The investment conglomerate said on Friday it would book a
277 billion yen ($2.5 billion) gain in the second quarter after
portfolio company Alibaba Group Holding BABA.N recorded a $9.7
billion gain related to its stake in Ant Financial. Elsewhere, Z Holdings 4689.T , formerly known as Yahoo
Japan Corp, surged 13.9% after the e-commerce firm's operating
profit rose by 11.2% year-on-year in the July-September quarter.
= 108.6600 yen)