Japan shares end higher on fresh US stimulus hopes

TOKYO: Japanese shares ended higher on Monday, tracking a gain in Wall Street futures in Asian trade, on hopes of a new US coronavirus relief deal before the presidential election.

The benchmark Nikkei share average rose 1.11pc to close at 23,671.13, while the broader Topix gained 1.25pc to 1,637.98.

Both of the indexes marked their biggest daily gains since Oct. 5. All 33 sector sub-indexes on the Tokyo exchange traded higher, with shippers, rubber products and iron and steel being the top three performers on the main bourse.

Shares were lifted by S&P 500 e-mini futures, last trading up 0.7pc, after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she was optimistic that legislation on a wide-ranging coronavirus relief package could be pushed through before the Nov. 3 election.

But with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in the Middle East until Tuesday, analysts suspect a deal to be a long shot.

On the domestic data front, Japan's exports in September fell at a slower pace than in the previous six months as US-bound shipments of cars started to recover from lows brought about by the COVID-19 outbreak, suggesting the pandemic's pressure on the economy was easing.

Markets shrugged off data from China showing economic recovery disappointed in the third-quarter, growing 4.9pc from a year earlier and missing analyst expectations.

"(The forecasts) were high due to the market having a slight excessive expectation of a pick-up trend in China's economy," said Kokichiro Mio, senior researcher at NLI Research Institute. Despite missing expectations, "the economy is recovering steadily," he added.

Toho Co soared 4.47pc, after hitting its highest since September 2019 earlier in the session, as the film and entertainment company raised its net profit forecast.

Toshiba Corp climbed 2.55pc, after the homegrown conglomerate said it aims to generate $3 billion in revenue from its quantum cryptography by 2030.