Japan Nikkei bounces 0.65% on bargain hunting

Headline indices of the Japan share market closed higher on Monday, 19 November 2018, shrugging off mixed cues from Wall Street on Friday and lingering worries about U.S.-China trade tensions, thanks to better than expected trade data showing an increase in Japanese exports during the month of October. At closing bell, the 225-issue Nikkei index added 140.82 points, or 0.65%, at 21,821.16. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange was up 8.31 points, or 0.51%, to 1,637.61.

Stocks moved mostly higher, assisted by repurchases of beaten-down issues including semiconductor-related companies and electronic parts makers, brokers said.

Competition between the U.S. and China over the Pacific was thrown into the spotlight at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Papua New Guinea. U.S. Vice President Mike Pence listed U.S. differences with China, a day after he directly criticized its Belt and Road program, saying countries should not accept debt that compromised their sovereignty. "They begin with trade practices, with tariffs and quotas, forced technology transfers, the theft of intellectual property. It goes beyond that to freedom of navigation in the seas, concerns about human rights," Pence told reporters travelling with him, according to Reuters. China's foreign ministry responded by saying no developing country would fall into a debt trap simply because of its cooperation with Beijing. The developments come ahead of an expected meeting between U.S President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping at the upcoming G-20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

ECONOMIC NEWS: Japan Posts Y449.3 Billion Trade Deficit In October -- Japan posted a merchandise trade deficit of 449.3 billion yen in October, following the 131,3 billion yen surplus in September, the Ministry of Finance said on Monday. Exports were up 8.2% on year, following the 1.3% decline in the previous month. Imports surged an annual 19.9% after rising 7% a month earlier. The adjusted trade deficit was 302.7 billion yen.

CURRENCY NEWS: Japanese yen was little changed against greenback on Monday, as investors grew cautious about the near term outlook for the greenback after dovish comments by U.S. policymakers. Richard Clarida, the Fed's newly appointed vice chair, cautioned about a slowdown in global growth, saying that's something that is going to be relevant for the outlook for the U.S. economy. The dollar fetched Y112.78 in Asian trade, against Y112.88 in New York on Friday.

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