Japan shares rise as calming Middle East woes shift focus to trade deal

By Stanley White
TOKYO, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Japanese shares rose on Friday, as
demand for riskier assets increased buoyed by de-escalation of
tensions in the Middle East and hopes that the Phase 1
U.S.-China trade agreement will boost corporate earnings.
By 0148 GMT the benchmark Nikkei index .N225 was up 0.16%
at 23,777.03 points. The index was on course for a 0.5% gain
this week, which was full of volatility after an Iranian missile
strike on U.S.-led forces in Iraq on Wednesday rippled through
global financial markets.
The attack initially sparked fears of a wider conflict over
the U.S. killing of a prominent Iranian general last week.
However, global equity markets quickly stabilised after both
the United States and Iran signalled they want to avoid a
full-blown war.
The market focus is now on the signing of a Phase 1 trade
deal between the United States and China scheduled for Jan. 15
to defuse a months-long trade war, which would relieve a huge
burden on the global economic outlook.
There were 116 advancers on the Nikkei index, against 103
decliners on Friday, while the remaining six remained unchanged.
The largest percentage gainers in the index were convenience
store operator Seven & i Holdings Co Ltd 3382.T , up 4%,
followed by industrial machinery maker IHI Corp 7013.T that
gained 3.85%, and rival convenience store operator FamilyMart Co
Ltd 8028.T , trading 2.43% higher.
The largest percentage losers in the index were apparel
retailer Fast Retailing Co Ltd 9983.T , down 2.98%, followed by
Mitsui Mining and Smelting Co Ltd 5706.T , which lost 1.97% and
Chubu Electric Power Co Inc 9502.T , trading 1.96% lower.
Fast Retailing cut its full-year outlook due to
worse-than-expected quarterly results on Thursday, hit by Hong
Kong protests and a South Korean consumer boycott that dented
sales at its Uniqlo stores. The broader Topix index .TOPX rose 0.2% to 1,732.50.
The volume of shares traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's
main board .TOPX was 0.48 billion, compared to the average of
1.12 billion in the past 30 days.