Roundup: Tokyo stocks close higher on eased trade concerns, yen's retreat

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TOKYO, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo stocks closed higher Wednesday as the market mood was buoyed by eased concerns over trade issues, with the yen's retreat against the U.S. dollar giving exporters a boost.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average added 199.69 points, or 0.98 percent, from Tuesday to close the day at 20,655.13.

The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, meanwhile, gained 12.93 points, or 0.87 percent, to finish at 1,499.50.

Trading got off to a bright start in Tokyo, local brokers said, following U.S. shares rallying overnight as investor sentiment was bolstered by eased concerns over ongoing trade and tariff issues.

Government data released here Wednesday showing that core private-sector machinery orders rose in June from a month earlier, also lifted the market mood and saw machinery-linked issues advance, market analysts said.

According to Japan's Cabinet Office, the machinery orders, excluding those for ships and utilities because of their volatility, rose 13.9 percent in June from the previous month, with the orders totaling 960.3 billion yen (9.0 billion U.S. dollars) in the recording month.

The increase in core orders in the recording period comes on the heels of a 7.8-percent decrease booked a month earlier, according to the government's data.

Also supporting a buoyant market mood was a comparatively weak yen against the U.S. dollar, which provided an impetus for buying as exporters in particular get a boost as a softer yen increases profits when repatriated from overseas and raises their competitiveness in overseas markets.

The market's rebound was also underpinned by solid performances on other major Asian bourses, market strategists here also said.

Some investors hit the sidelines in later trade, investment analysts said, however, to take a wait-and-see approach ahead of the release of U.S. jobless claims, industrial production and retail sales data due out Thursday.

Among cyclical issues highly sensitive to external factors, TDK Corp. added 4.3 percent, while Taiyo Yuden climbed 6.3 percent. Murata Manufacturing, meanwhile, ended the day 3.3 percent higher.

Chip-related issues found favor, with Tokyo Electron gaining 1.1 percent and Screen Holdings surging 6.0 percent by the close.

Industrial robotics maker and Nikkei heavyweight Fanuc was one of the day's notable winners, adding 2 percent, helped in part by eased trade concerns and by Japan's positive core machinery orders for June.

Nintendo also closed in positive territory, adding 4.3 percent, on expectations for robust sales of its new "Switch Lite" gaming console in September.

By the close of play, mining, rubber product and nonferrous metal-linked issues comprised those that gained the most by the close of play.

On the main section on Wednesday, 1,063.24 million shares changed hands, dropping from Tuesday's volume of 1,282.49 million shares, and rising issues beat falling ones by 1,673 to 406 on the First Section, while 70 ended the day unchanged.

The turnover came to 1,940.0 billion yen (18.26 billion U.S. dollars). Enditem

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