Surprise Trade Deal for Japan Turns Stock Losers Into Winners

The unexpected US-Japan trade deal announced Wednesday may end up being a tipping point for the fortunes of many sectors in the stock market — with losers turning into winners, and vice versa.

The list of biggest share gains following initial news of the deal was dominated by carmakers, which staged a relief rally after their US tariffs were lowered. Those same shares had been among the poorest performers earlier in the year. There were almost equivalent moves in the other direction, with recent high-flying defense and retail firms being sold.

There’s also likely to be some reordering of ...