Tokyo shares closed higher Monday, as investors breathed a sigh of relief after the US and China agreed to suspend new tariffs in their escalating trade war. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index, which has ended higher for the past six days, added 1.00 percent or 223.70 points at 22,574.76, while the broader Topix index rose 1.30 percent or 21.60 points at 1,689.05.
Investors returned to buying after the long-awaited meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of weekend G20 talks in Argentina. The leaders of the world's top two economies agreed not to impose new tariffs and to continue talking, lowering the temperature of a conflict that has spooked world markets.
"In addition to the sense of relief following the US-China summit, the rise of Shanghai and Hong Kong stocks helped investors seek to buy shares in the afternoon trade," Yoshihiro Ito, chief strategist at Okasan Online Securities, said in a commentary. Under the US-China agreement, Trump shelved a plan to raise existing tariffs of 10 percent to 25 percent from the start of next year.
But the White House said the tariffs would still leap up to 25 percent if China does not meet US demands in 90 days.
In the forex market, the US dollar traded at 113.52 yen against 113.54 yen in New York Friday.
Investors are now looking to the upcoming Opec meeting as crude prices slump on global markets, Mizuho Securities said in a note. Among notable gainers in Tokyo on Monday were China-related shares like industrial robot maker Fanuc, which jumped 1.05 percent to 19,595 yen. Toyota soared 3.36 percent to 7,032 yen and SoftBank added 1.33 percent to 9,653 yen. Uniqlo-operator Fast Retailing opened higher, but lost 0.77 percent at the close to 58,580 yen.
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