The Nikkei closes higher but things could have been better
Japanese stocks extended gains further on the week after a solid performance by US equities in overnight trading. However, things could have been better as the Nikkei is hugging the lower end of the trading range today following a surge higher earlier.
More optimistic - though repetitive - US-China trade headlines helped to give risk trades a bit of an early boost but that faded quickly and is leaving a more neutral tone in markets now.
The Hang Seng is down by 0.2% with the Shanghai Composite down by 0.1% currently. US futures are pretty much flat after having seen gains of around 0.4% earlier on.
As such, USD/JPY is flattish just under 109.00 after a brief jump to 109.20 with major currencies little changed so far on the day.