By Stanley White
TOKYO, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Japanese shares gained on Friday
as cautious optimism about the prospect of the United States and
China reaching a trade agreement lifted investors' risk
appetite.
The Nikkei index .N225 ended up 0.32% at 23,112.88 points
as exporters in the IT sector and the industrial equipment
sector paced gains.
China wants to work out an initial trade agreement with the
United States and has been trying to avoid a trade war, but it
is not afraid to retaliate when necessary, President Xi Jinping
said on Friday.
Xi made the comments at a New Economy Forum organised by
Bloomberg LP in Beijing, according to a pool report.
China has invited top U.S. trade negotiators for a new round
of face-to-face talks in Beijing, the Wall Street Journal
reported on Thursday, on hopes the talks can take place before
next Thursday's Thanksgiving holiday in the United States.
Completion of a phase one deal could slide into next year,
trade experts and people close to the White House told Reuters
previously, as Beijing presses for more extensive rollback of
U.S. tariffs that have weakened its exports and slowed its
economy. "A retreat from some of the excessive pessimism surrounding
the trade war is supporting Japanese stocks," said Hideyuki
Ishiguro, senior strategist at Daiwa Securities in Tokyo.
"Both countries stand to benefit from a trade deal, so in
practical terms I think that is where we are heading. There is
still room for Japanese stocks to rise further as foreign
investors buy back shares they sold last year."
For the week, the Nikkei fell 0.82%, its biggest since Oct.
4, highlighting concern about U.S.-China relations in the long
term.
There were 143 advancers on the Nikkei index against 76
decliners on Friday.
The largest percentage gainers in the index were Internet
services company Z Holdings Corp 4689.T up 3.95%, followed by
Taiheiyo Cement Corp 5233.T gaining 2.89% and industrial
equipment maker Yokogawa Electric Corp 6841.T up by 2.17%.
Formerly known as Yahoo Japan, Z Holdings got a boost
because it will merge with messaging app operator Line Corp
3938.T . Shares in Line rose 0.19% on Friday.
The largest percentage losses in the index were online
commerce company Rakuten Inc 4755.T down 2.38%, followed by
property developer Tokyu Fudosan Holdings Corp 3289.T losing
2.37% and Nippon Light Metal Holdings Co Ltd 5703.T down by
2.20%.
The Topix index .TOPX ended Friday up 0.12% at 1,691.34,
but fell 0.31% this week.
The volume of shares traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's
main board .TOPX was 0.94 billion, compared to the average of
1.27 billion in the past 30 days.
(Editing by Sam Holmes & Kim Coghill)