TOKYO, July 8 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average
rose on Tuesday, buoyed by a weakening yen and as U.S. President
Donald Trump gave an additional three-week grace period for
tariff negotiations.
The Nikkei gained 0.2% to 39,679.13 as of 0220 GMT.
The broader Topix added 0.1%.
On Monday, Trump began telling selected trade partners that
they will see higher tariff rates from August 1, with the
original three-month moratorium on "Liberation Day" reciprocal
levies expiring on Wednesday. Japan will now see a rate of 25%.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said his administration would
continue negotiations with the White House to seek a mutually
beneficial bilateral deal. Initially touted by Trump's team as a
likely early success, talks with Tokyo remain stalled for weeks,
largely over a 25% tariff on Japanese auto imports.
"It's very clear that it be will very difficult" to overcome
the obstacles to an agreement on autos, said the chief macro
strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management, Masayuki
Kichikawa, who sees the 25% duty on the sector sticking.
Japan's best outcome would be a lowering of the universal
25% rate to the baseline 10% the U.S. is levying on all trading
partners, he said.
According to Kichikawa, "there is no choice other than
to wait and see" for now as the July 20 Japanese
upper house elections
leave Ishiba's team little room to show flexibility in
trade negotiations until after the result.
Japanese stocks rose on the day even after the tariff
announcements, which also included South Korea along with a host
of smaller nations, sent Wall Street sliding from record highs.
Japan's heavyweight exporters were supported by a sharply
weaker yen, with Trump's new tariff rates spurring a broad rally
in the U.S. currency overnight. A weaker yen inflates the value
of overseas revenues.
The chip sector was a standout, with Advantest ( ADTTF )
gaining 2.2% and Furukawa Electric ( FUWAF ) jumping 7.7%.
Automakers advanced, with Mazda ( MZDAF ) climbing 2.5% and
Toyota ( TM ) up 0.5%.
However, shares of embattled Nissan ( NSANF ) slumped for a
third day, shedding an additional 2.9%.