Japanese stocks rallied on Friday on signs the United States and China might resume full-scale negotiations ahead of an approaching deadline for additional U.S. tariffs.

Chinese commerce ministry spokesman Gao Feng told reporters on Thursday that Beijing hopes Washington can cancel the planned tariff increase to avoid an escalation in the trade war. U.S. President Donald Trump said some discussions took place on Thursday, with more talks scheduled.

At 0119 GMT, the Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei index was up 1.1% at 20,686.54, having lost a modest 0.09% on Thursday. The broader Topix rose 0.99% to 1,504.97.

Shares linked to China gained on the hopeful signs for U.S.-China trade talks, which have waxed and waned over the past months and kept global markets on edge.

Hitachi Construction Machinery Co and Komatsu Ltd rallied 1.8% and 1.6%, respectively.

Source : Reuters