In an astonishing turn of events, U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday afternoon ordered a 90-day halt to fresh tariffs on dozens of countries — just 13 hours after they went into effect earlier in the day.
The news was welcomed by Japan and its markets, with the 225-issue Nikkei stock average up more than 7% just after the open on Thursday morning in Tokyo and holding the gains throughout the day. In afternoon trading, Toyota was up more than 6%, Sony 12% and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial 10%.
“We take the recent announcement by the U.S. government in a positive light,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said.
