Tokyo's main stocks close higher despite trade war fears

Tokyo's main stock market closed higher Thursday with a cheaper yen supporting some shares and investors shrugging off lingering fears of a US-China trade war.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 0.61 percent or 137.61 points to close at 22,693.04. However, the broader Topix index fell 0.12 percent or 2.12 points at 1,750.63.

The dollar edged up to 110.87 yen in Asian trade from 110.05 yen in New York late Wednesday.

As there was little fresh major news on the US-China trade war front, investors are looking now at "the fact that US economy is in good shape," Hiroaki Hiwata, strategist at Toyo Securities, told AFP.

The cheaper yen against the dollar was also supporting the market which saw bargain-hunting purchases, he added.

Takeda Pharmaceutical rallied 4.46 percent to 4,494 yen after its chief executive said the company was boosting its business in China.

Sony rallied 1.53 percent to 5,487 yen and SoftBank jumped 4.62 percent to 8,641 yen a day after its president Masaoshi Son explained his investment strategy to shareholders.

Steel companies were lower, with Nippon Steel losing 0.29 percent to 2,167 yen and JFE slipping 0.18 percent to 2,132.