Tokyo stocks climbs in quiet trading day

Monitoring Desk

TOKYO: Tokyo stocks were marginally higher Tuesday while most other major Asian markets were closed for public holidays. The White House’s announcement that it would postpone a decision on imposing hefty tariffs on U.S. imports of steel and aluminum products from some countries helped boost investor sentiment.

KEEPING SCORE: Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 0.1 percent to 22,481.58. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.5 percent to 6,014.00. Stock markets in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Seoul and other cities in Southeast Asia were closed for public holidays.

TRADE: The White House said Monday it would delay its decision to impose tariffs on U.S. imports of steel and aluminium from the European Union, Canada and Mexico for 30 days, sidestepping a potential trade battle with Europe. The announcement comes ahead of the trade talks between U.S. and China later this week.

WALL STREET: U.S. stocks fell moderately on Monday but still ended April higher, the first monthly increase for the market since January. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 0.6 percent to 24,163.15. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 0.8 percent to 2,648.05 and the Nasdaq composite lost 0.8 percent to 7,066.27.

OIL: Benchmark U.S. crude added 18 cents to $68.75 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 47 cents to $68.57 per barrel on Monday. Brent crude, the international standard, gained 20 cents to $74.89 per barrel in London.

CURRENCIES: The dollar rose to 109.36 Japanese yen from 109.33 yen. The euro was flat at $1.2075. (Agencies)