Nikkei closes with 4.7 percent surge


Japanese banks finished the day strongly Thursday, helping the Nikkei lift 4.7%

TOKYO, Japan -- Tokyo stocks finished strongly Thursday, with the benchmark Nikkei jumping 4.7 percent on the back of Wall Street's sharp rise and fresh hopes for a government bailout of Japanese banks.

Markets in Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore also closed higher.

But Australia, New Zealand and Taiwan fell.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 average closed up 461.29 points or 4.69 percent at 10,295.42, while the broader TOPIX index rose 31.98 points or 3.34 percent to 988.89.

Big banks, telco stocks, chipmakers and consumer electronic issues were all higher in Japan. The country's biggest beermaker, Asahi Breweries, rose on a stock buy-back plan.

Mizuho up 4.2 percent

Mizuho Holdings, the biggest bank by assets, jumped 9000 yen or 4.2 percent to 223,000 yen.

UFJ Holdings added 7000 yen or 2.56 percent to 280,000 yen. No.2 bank Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp was up 15 yen or 3.33 percent to 466 yen, and Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group rose 15,000 yen or 1.95 percent to 784,000 yen.

Elsewhere in the region, Korea's Kospi also finished strongly after being essentially flat for much of the day. It put on 10.73 points or 1.38 percent to 787.62.

Telco SK Telecom and automaker Hyundai Motor rose, but chipmaker and market heavyweight Samsung Electronics eased 2000 won or 0.6 percent to 338,000 won.

Qantas dives

In Australia, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 was down 3.4 points or 0.1 percent to 3434.3. Leading airline Qantas tumbled 3 percent before recovering to close 1.27 percent down at A$3.89 after posting a 42 percent drop in first-half profit.

Resources giant BHP Billiton also eased, but rival Rio Tinto was up slightly at A$39.51.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index was up 28 points at 10,755 near the close.

Taiwan's Taiex ended down 36.08 points or 0.63 percent to 5656.10.

In Singapore, the Straits Times index was up about 10 points or 0.58 percent to 1739 near the close.

Investor sentiment up

In Japan, investor sentiment picked up on Wall Street's stronger performance Wednesday, and signs of greater commitment to debt reduction among corporates.

There was also hope that a government package to help banks deal with their bad loans will materialize, as part of the anti-deflation measures being prepared by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's administration.

In the U.S., the Dow Jones industrial average jumped 196 points or 2 percent to 9941 in the U.S., while the Nasdaq composite was 24.96 points or 1.43 percent higher at 1775.57.

Computer and chipmaker NEC rose 44 yen or more than 5.1 percent to 895 yen after reports it would speed up its cost-cutting efforts.

Condominium builder Haseko said it would ask its three major creditor banks to convert 150 billion yen ($1.12 billion) in debt to equity as part of a new revival plan.

Haseko soared 17 percent to 28 yen after it resumed trading.

"Companies are intensifying efforts to help themselves through business integration and debt-for-equity swaps in the construction sector," Hidenori Karaki, equities general manager at Tokyo Mitsubishi Personal Securities, told Reuters news agency.

"These steps will eventually improve their profitability to a great extent."

Telcos make gains

Asahi Breweries, now Japan's largest beer maker, put on 3.5 percent to 1060 yen. Kirin Brewery was down 4 yen or 0.45 percent to 887 yen.

Mobile telco NTT DoCoMo put on 50,000 yen or 3.65 percent to 1.42 million yen, while parent NTT rose 1.26 percent. Japan Telecom jumped 27,000 yen or 7.6 percent to 381,000 yen.

Sony was up 260 yen or 4.335 percent to 6260 yen, while Matsushita Electric Industrial recovered out of the red to finish 6 yen or 0.4 percent higher at 1518 yen.

Chipmakers Toshiba, Hitachi and Fujitsu strengthened by between 2.5 and 3.9 percent