Tokyo stocks close up as trade war fears ease

Tokyo stocks closed higher on Wednesday as fears about the US-China trade war eased following the release on bail of a Huawei executive.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 2.15 percent or 454.73 points to end at 21,602.75, while the broader Topix index was up 1.99 percent or 31.30 points at 1,606.61.

"Investor sentiment improved after media reports on China considering lowering tariffs on US cars and the release on bail of Huawei CFO" Meng Wanzhou, said Yoshihiro Ito, chief strategist at Okasan Online Securities, in a commentary.

Canada on Tuesday authorised the release on bail of Meng, chief financial officer at Chinese telecoms giant Huawei, whose arrest last week sparked fury in Beijing and worries about the future of a truce agreed at the G20 by Donald Trump and Xi Jinping.

Ito added that the Nikkei index was also supported by a weaker yen.

The dollar fetched at 113.43 yen in Asian trade, little change from 113.40 yen in New York but up slightly from 113.10 yen in Tokyo late Tuesday.

In Tokyo, automakers were higher with Toyota advancing 2.22 percent to 6,895 yen and Honda up 2.01 percent at 3,082 yen.

Nissan rebounded 0.95 percent to 924.4 yen, after tumbling 3.10 percent on Tuesday and 2.90 percent on Monday after ousted chairman Carlos Ghosn was charged and faced new allegations of alleged financial misconduct.

Sony jumped 3.59 percent to 5,941 yen and Panasonic was up 3.18 percent to 1,084 yen.