Tokyo Shares Rebound after Trump-Linked Losses
Tokyo shares rallied Wednesday due to a weaker yen and a record close on Wall Street, after days of losses linked to fears over U.S. President Donald Trump's economic policies.
The benchmark Nikkei stock index rose 1.43 percent, or 269.51 percent, to close at 19,057.50. The broader Topix index of all first-section issues added 1.01 percent, or 15.25 points, to end the day on 1,521.58.
Trump on Tuesday met leading U.S. automakers and took action to advance two major oil pipeline projects that had been blocked by then-president Barack Obama.
House Speaker Paul Ryan meanwhile signaled support for public works spending, telling reporters he wants an infrastructure package "as expansive as possible".
The developments provided some relief to dealers who had grown concerned Trump was putting on the back burner plans to boost the world's top economy with big spending and tax-cutting measures.
"The fact that the U.S. economy is strong is positive for the global economy, and right at this moment, investor sentiment is tipped toward hope that President Trump is trying something new," Chihiro Ohta, a senior strategist at SMBC Nikko Securities, told Bloomberg News.
On the home front, Japan reported its first annual trade surplus -- 4.07 trillion yen ($35.8 billion) -- since the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster sent its energy import bills skyrocketing.
A slide in the yen stoked demand for shares of exporters, which benefit from a cheaper currency.
In Asian trading the dollar was at 113.71 yen, slightly off 113.81 yen in New York but well up from the levels below 113 yen touched earlier Tuesday.
Trump has been pressuring automakers, both U.S. and foreign, into boosting production and hiring in the United States, threatening them with taxes if they move factories and jobs overseas.
Toyota said on Tuesday it would invest $600 million and add 400 jobs to boost SUV production at a factory in Indiana -- the home state of Vice President Mike Pence.
Shares in the automaker jumped 1.93 percent to 6,706 yen by the close.
Takata surged 18.22 percent to 519 yen, after the embattled airbag maker denied it would enter into a potentially lengthy court-mediated bankruptcy restructuring.
Toshiba fell 2.08 percent to 254.4 yen after Japanese media reported late Tuesday that the conglomerate is set to announce the spin-off of its microchip business as it wrestles with potentially huge losses in its U.S. nuclear unit.
Standard & Poor's cut Toshiba's credit rating late Tuesday.
Source: Agence France Presse
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