Tokyo, Nov 22 (AFP/APP): Tokyo stocks rose on Friday as investors snapped up bargains after a three-day losing streak, while closely watching the see-saw developments in US-China trade talks.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index gained 0.32 percent, or 74.30 points, to close at 23,112.88. Over the week, it lost 0.82 percent.
The broader Topix index was up 0.12 percent, or 1.96 points, at 1,691.34, but declined 0.31 percent overall from a week earlier.
Bargain-hunting purchases emerged after stocks had fallen for a third straight session, Toshikazu Horiuchi, a broker at IwaiCosmo Securities, told AFP.
“But buying was not so active as players continued to closely watch developments in US-China trade negotiations,” Horiuchi said.
China’s Vice Premier and chief negotiator Liu He has said he was “cautiously optimistic” about reaching a phase-one trade deal with the US, Bloomberg reported.
Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal reported He had invited his American counterparts for face-to-face talks in Beijing.
Third day of declines for Dow, S&P as Wall Street sags
“A series of headlines overnight gave a degree of optimism that a partial agreement entailing a truce is still likely,” National Australia Bank’s analyst Tapas Strickland said in a note.
Nevertheless, a US bill supporting civil rights in Hong Kong is still seen as a “barrier to a more comprehensive trade deal,” added Strickland.
The dollar fetched 108.62 yen in Asian afternoon trade, against 108.60 yen in New York on Thursday.
In Tokyo, automakers were higher, with Nissan gaining 0.46 percent to 667.1 yen and Toyota up 0.47 percent at 7,753 yen.
Sony gained 0.79 percent to 6,686 yen while Uniqlo casual wear operator Fast Retailing edged up 0.13 percent to 66,320 yen.
Tokyo stocks open lower on worries over US-China talks
Panasonic lost 1.45 percent to 990.4 yen after the firm said it would end its production of liquid crystal display panels by 2021.
Nintendo dropped 3.51 percent to 41,490 yen on profit-taking after rising sharply in recent trading.
Japan’s core consumer price index was up 0.4 percent year-on-year in October, according to government data released 30 minutes before the opening bell. The data was in line with market expectations.
