Tokyo
stocks rose sharply Wednesday morning, briefly up more than 3 percent, as Wall Street rallied overnight after oil prices bounced back.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average gained 427.33 points, or 2.56 percent, from Tuesday to end the morning at 17,136.23. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange was up 36.78 points, or 2.70 percent, to 1,397.01.
Every industry category on the main section gained ground led by mining, other financing business, and information and communication.
After opening higher,
Tokyo
stocks gradually extended gains, briefly up more than 500 points, recovering losses from the previous day.
"Oil has been the main driver of sentiment on the
Tokyo
stocks market,"
Yutaka Miura, senior technical analyst at
Mizuho Securities Co., said.
Miura said stocks have been tracking the volatile swings of oil prices with equities falling when oil prices tumble, and jumping when they rebound. "Cheap crude prices could be a positive factor for the real economy, but investors are now giving more attention to the negative aspects," Miura added.
Crude oil futures bounced back above the $30 line, rising to $31.45 per barrel in
New York
on Tuesday.
The rebound came on rumors that some members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries may be willing to consider production cuts, analysts said.
The strength of the
U.S.
dollar, holding steady at the lower
118 yen level, also helped boost the export-sensitive
Tokyo
bourse. A weaker yen boosts Japanese companies' earnings when repatriated.
Analysts said, however, that investors refrained from making bold moves ahead of the outcomes of the crucial meetings of the
U.S.
Federal Reserve and the
Bank of Japan.
The Fed will wrap up its two-day policy meeting later in the day and the
BOJ on Friday.
On the First Section, advancing issues trounced decliners 1,811 to 91, while 25 ended the morning unchanged.
Toyota Motor and Suzuki Motor rose after the Nikkei business daily reported the two car companies have entered tie-up negotiations to open up new markets for compact vehicles in emerging countries, including
India
.
Suzuki Motor spiked 341 yen, or 10.6 percent, to 3,565 yen while Toyota Motor jumped 244 yen, or 3.7 percent, to 6,873 yen.
Resource-related issues followed moves in oil prices with JX Holdings rising 15.80 yen, or 3.7 percent, to 447.50 yen.
==Kyodo
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