Nikkei hits 4-month high on U.S.-China trade hopes, ECB stimulus

By Tomo Uetake
TOKYO, Sept 13 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average rose
to a fresh four month-high on Friday, as signs of thawing in
U.S.-China trade tensions and the European Central Bank policy
easing tempered worries about a global economic slowdown.
The benchmark Nikkei .N225 advanced 1.1% to 21,988.29,
marking its highest close since May 7. For the week, the index
advanced 3.7%, to post its biggest gain in eight months.
The broader Topix .TOPX rose 0.9% to 1,609.87, its highest
closing since April 26, with turnover on Tokyo's main board
stood at 3.34 trillion yen, the heaviest in nearly nine months.
On Wall Steet, the S&P 500 .SPX rose 0.3% to close within
striking distance of its all-time closing high overnight, with
investors sticking to hopes of more progress in upcoming trade
talks between the world's largest economies. .N/C
China and the United States both announced concessions this
week ahead of upcoming trade talks in early October. U.S.
President Donald Trump later told reporters he may consider an
interim trade deal with Beijing. "It looks like foreign investors are returning to Japanese
stock market as part of the great rotation from bonds to
stocks," said Norihiro Fujito, chief investment strategist at
Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities.
About two thirds of the Tokyo Stock Exchange's 33 subsectors
were in positive territory, with the interest rate-sensitive
real estate sector .IRLTY.T becoming the biggest gainer, up
2.7%, ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy meeting next
week.
Defensive shares were also in demand, with Shiseido 4911.T
and Tokyo Disney Resort operator OLC 4661.T soaring 2.2% and
3.0%, respectively.
Panasonic 6752.T gained 0.6% after the Nikkei newspaper
reported Toyota Motor 7203.T started using batteries that
Panasonic designed for Tesla TSLA.O in some of its plug-in
hybrids sold in China. Toyota added 0.8%.
Nissan Motor 7201.T edged up 0.3% as the U.S. safety
regulators opened a preliminary investigation into 553,000
Nissan Rogue sport utility vehicles after reports of their
automatic emergency braking systems engaging without warning or
an obstruction. Elsewhere, Yahoo Japan 4689.T jumped 4.9% after the
internet company said it would take over online fashion retailer
Zozo for 400 billion yen ($3.7 billion) on Thursday, seeking to
compete better against the likes of Amazon.com AMZN.O .
Zozo 3092.T retreated 0.5%, paring some of its
huge gains of 13.4% made the previous day.
($1 = 108.1400 yen)