Tokyo stocks closed modestly higher Monday as the yen eased against the dollar with investor sentiment improving on US President Donald Trump's latest comments hinting at a deal with China over trade issues. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 0.51 percent, or 110.74 points, to close at 21,678.26, while the broader Topix index ended up 0.38 percent, or 6.58 points, at 1,725.88.
The dollar fetched 107.00 yen in Asian trade, up slightly from 106.95 yen in New York late Friday.
"Much ink has been spilt over trade wars in the last few days, and we now wait to see what the Trump administration does next," Stephen Innes, head of forex trading for Asia Pacific at Oanda, said in a commentary. But Hiroaki Hiwata, strategist at Toyo Securities, said that "worries over a trade war are receding somewhat as the issue has been there for the past several days."
Analysts pointed to comments by Trump on Sunday that he sees an end to the escalating trade dispute with China.
US stocks plunged more than two percent Friday after the US president warned of tariffs on an additional $100 billion of Chinese imports, provoking a strong response from Beijing and fanning fears of a full-blown trade war. However, Trump tweeted on Sunday: "China will take down its trade barriers because it is the right thing to do."
"Taxes will become reciprocal & deal will be made on Intellectual Property. Great future for both countries!" added the president.
In Tokyo, automakers were among the gainers, with Toyota closing up 0.19 percent at 6,741 yen, Nissan up 0.22 percent at 1,118 yen and Honda up 0.19 percent at 3,688.
Panasonic gained 0.88 percent to 1,541.5 yen and Canon rose 0.52 percent to 3,850 yen while market heavyweight and Uniqlo casual clothes operator Fast Retailing advanced 0.75 percent to 46,620.
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