Japan's Nikkei surges on trade deal hopes lift tech; Toyota Industries slides
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed 0.8 per cent higher.
Japanese stocks snapped a three-session skid on Wednesday after the yen weakened and hopes rose for a potential trade deal that could reopen the technology markets with China.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed 0.8 per cent higher, while the broader Topix added 0.5 per cent. Gainers outnumbered decliners on the Nikkei, with 138 stocks advancing versus 82 ending in the red.
Chip sector heavyweights Advantest and Disco rose 1.9 per cent and 1.2 per cent, respectively, following US tech shares' overnight gains.
Nintendo jumped 3.4 per cent ahead of the debut of its much-anticipated Switch 2 console on Thursday.
Nvidia and other chipmakers drove gains in US stocks overnight ahead of the talks between US President Donald Trump and China's leader Xi Jinping this week to address tariff and trade disputes that have roiled global markets.
The trend of rising semiconductor stocks spread to the Japanese stock market on the day along with hopes of progress in trade talks, Wataru Akiyama, a strategist at Nomura Securities, said.
"Semiconductor-related shares are on the rise due to expectations of strong results stemming from chip demand centred around AI."
The yen was little changed at 143.94 per dollar, after a 0.9 per cent slide on Tuesday, benefiting exporters.
The United States is expecting countries to make their best offers on trade negotiations by Wednesday as sweeping tariffs loom. However, Japan has not received a letter from the US seeking its best proposals on trade talks, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said.
Toyota Industries slid 12 per cent after Toyota Motor said it would take the forklift maker private in a US$33 billion deal, much lower than the amount indicated in earlier media reports. Toyota Motor's shares climbed 1.9 per cent.
The largest percentage gainers on the Nikkei were Furukawa Electric, up 6.3 per cent, followed by Tokuyama, which gained 6 per cent.
The biggest losers were BayCurrent, down 2.3 per cent, followed by Yamato Holdings, which shed 1.8 per cent.
Read More: Here