Stocks in Asia rise as Trump continues Japan visit on hopes of a trade deal

The Nikkei 225 in Japan added 0.3% in early trade. The Topix index also rose 0.17%. Shares of semiconductor equipment manufacturer Tokyo Electronsurged 4.34% following the announcement of a share buyback, Reuters reported.

In South Korea, the Kospi rose 0.24%, with shares of LG Chem gaining 1.07%. In Australia, the ASX 200 advanced 0.2%.

U.S. President Trump is currently in Japan as part of a four-day state visit, where he said during a Monday news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that he hoped to announce a trade deal with the country soon.

Trump said his goal was to remove trade barriers so as to give U.S. exports a fair footing in Japan. He described the U.S. trade imbalance with Japan as “unbelievably large” but expressed hopes to address that.

The U.S. president’s visit comes amid an ongoing trade war between Washington and Beijing, with China standing firm against the demands of the U.S. to change its state-run economy.

China’s giant state-owned enterprises control strategic industries such as energy, telecommunications and defense. Since those companies benefit from favorable policies and subsidies, foreign companies complain of an unfair advantage. The escalating trade dispute between the U.S. and China has focused on allegations of the coerced surrender of proprietary technology and the trampling of intellectual property rights.

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 97.737, close to yesterday’s highs but still off levels above 98.1 seen last week.

The Japanese yen traded at 109.52 against the dollar after weakening from levels around 109.3 in the previous session. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.6923 after slipping from levels above $0.693 yesterday.

Oil prices were mixed in the morning of Asian trading hours, with the international benchmark Brent crude futures contract slipping 0.16% to $70.00 per barrel, while U.S. crude futures added 0.87% to $59.14 per barrel.

— Reuters and CNBC’s Evelyn Cheng contributed to this report.