TOKYO, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Japanese shares rose on Thursday,
tracking an upbeat Wall Street session, as investors welcomed
U.S. President Donald Trump's hints of progress toward a trade
deal with Beijing, with cyclical and China-related stocks
leading the gains.
The benchmark Nikkei average .N225 gained 0.2% to
22,069.28 by the midday break, while the broader Topix .TOPX
advanced as much as 1.0% to 1,635.88, its highest level since
Dec. 5, and the morning session up 0.4%.
President Trump stoked trade optimism on Wednesday by saying
China wants "to make a deal very badly" and an agreement to end
a nearly 15-month trade war with China "could happen sooner than
you think." His comments pushed market concern about U.S. political
risks into the background, a day after Democrat lawmakers said
they will open an impeachment inquiry into Trump's dealings with
his Ukraine counterpart.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 .SPX notched its biggest daily
gain in two weeks, while the Dow .DJI and the Nasdaq .IXIC
also advanced on Wednesday. .N/C
In Japan, highly cyclical sectors iron and steel .ISTEL.T
and sea transport .ISHIP.T were among the best performing
sectors of the bourse's 33 subsector indexes, up 2.9% and 1.8%,
respectively.
China-related issues led the gains, with Fanuc 6954.T up
3.3%, Komatsu 6301.T by 1.5% and Hitachi Construction
Machinery 6305.T advancing 1.1%.
The Tokyo market was not impacted by the limited trade deal
Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe signed on
Wednesday, which cuts tariffs on U.S. farm goods and Japanese
machine tools while further staving off the threat of higher
U.S. car duties. Sino-U.S. talks remain the bigger concern for investors,
analysts said.