Japan Stocks gain on firm offshore lead

The Japan share market advanced on Friday, 17 January 2020, with most sectors rising, as risk appetite buying picked up on tracking the record closing highs overnight on Wall Street after sealing of an initial U.S.-China trade deal and Senate approval of a new trade deal between the U.S., Mexico and Canada, and upbeat economic data. Meanwhile, momentum further supported by yen depreciation against greenback and better than expected China's gross domestic product (GDP) numbers. Around late afternoon, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average rose 25.20 points, or 0.11%, to 23,941.78, while the broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange sank 1.81 points, or 0.1%, at 1,729.25.

Total 25 issues of the 33 industry category of Topix index inclined into positive territory, with Iron & Steel, Marine Transportation, Metal Products, Securities & Commodities Futures, Transportation Equipment, and Rubber Products issues being notable gainers, while Electric Power & Gas, Services, and Retail Trade issues were notable gainers.

The markets continued to benefit from recent upward momentum following the official signing of the U.S.-China phase one trade deal on Wednesday. The U.S. President Donald Trump and China's chief negotiator, Liu He, signed the Phase 1 deal before a group of corporate executives and reporters at the White House, marking a truce in the dispute over import tariff which has unsettled markets world-wide and slowed economic growth. The pact eases some sanctions on China. In return, Beijing has agreed to step up its purchases of U.S. farm products and other goods.

Also, the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly approved the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement on Thursday, sending the pact to President Donald Trump for signature just a day after he inked a high-profile trade deal with China.

The major exporters were higher on a weaker yen. Mitsubishi Electric, Panasonic, Sony, and Canon were higher in between 0.1% to 2%. Among auto stocks, Honda Motor rose 0.7% and Toyota Motor was up 0.1%.

CURRENCY NEWS: The Japanese yen, often viewed as a safe-haven currency in times of economic uncertainty, weakened against a basket of currencies. The yen's traded at 110.16, weakening from the 109 level for most of the week.

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