Tokyo Stocks Jump 4 Percent

HONG KONG AP reported that Tokyo stocks rallied more than 4 percent Thursday, following Wall Street's sharp rebound and boosted by renewed hopes in a government plan to lift the banking sector out of its doldrums.

Smaller Asian markets closed mixed.

Tokyo's 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average surged 461.29 points, or 4.69 percent, to 10,295.42 -- the largest one-day gain since May 1, when the average snapped up 491.14 points, or 3.52 percent. On Wednesday, the Nikkei shed 13.03 points, or 0.13 percent.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average climbed 196.03 points, or 2 percent, to 9,941.17 at Wednesday's close. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index edged up 1.4 percent to 1,775.57.

The Tokyo market was initially buoyed by advances in technology blue chips, including Tokyo Electron, Fujitsu, Toshiba and Sony, as well as automaker Nissan Motor.

But the gains soon extended to banking and financial shares, after investors expressed optimism toward the Japanese government's plans to inject capital into banks to help them speed up writing off bad loans.

Banking issues, such as Mizuho Holdings, UFJ Holdings, Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking, all soared.

In currency trading, the U.S. dollar rose against the Japanese yen, following Wall Street's gains and amid market speculation that the Bank of Japan may decide to further reduce its already near zero-interest rate policy.

The greenback bought 133.76 yen in late trading, up 0.65 yen from late Wednesday in Tokyo and also above its late Wednesday level of 133.72 yen in New York.

In Hong Kong, shares edged up marginally, but a drop in China-related stocks prevented the blue chips from holding onto all of their early gains.

The Hang Seng Index gained 39.84 points, or 0.4 percent, to finish at 10,788.9, losing much of its early rally of 120 points that was inspired by the rise on Wall Street. On Wednesday, the Hang Seng had fallen 91.43 points, or 0.8 percent.

Elsewhere:

BANGKOK: Thai stocks slipped on selling in blue chips, hurt by news that Calpers, the largest U.S. pension fund, will pull out of the market. The Stock Exchange of Thailand index shed 12.13 points, or 3.2 percent, to end at 364.18.

JAKARTA: Indonesian shares edged up marginally on a mild technical rebound in cigarette and telecommunications blue chips. The JSX Composite Index advanced 0.929 point, or 0.2 percent, to 459.387.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian shares also dipped on news that Calpers would sell its investments in the market. The Composite Index of 100 blue chips slid 5.40 points, nearly 0.8 percent, to 717.39.

MANILA: Philippine shares finished lower as investors continued to cash in on recent gains. The 30-company Philippine Stock Exchange Index lost 9.73 points, or 0.7 percent, to 1,443.44.

SEOUL: South Korean shares rose on heavy institutional buying and continued optimism over the country's economic outlook. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index, or Kospi, gained 10.73 points, or 1.38 percent, to 787.62.

SINGAPORE: Singapore prices advanced as Wall Street's rally pushed banking and technology companies higher, although the gains were contained by selling in other sectors. The Straits Times Index climbed 2.48 points, or 0.1 percent, to 1,731.83.

SYDNEY: Australian shares edged down marginally, as companies released mixed earnings reports. The All Ordinaries index shed 2.9 points, or 0.1 percent, to 3,379.7.

TAIPEI: Taiwan shares slipped on a technical correction, with investors continuing to reap profits amid concerns over the fallout from cases of irregular accounting practices in the United States. The Weighted Price Index of the Taiwan Stock Exchange dipped 36.08 points, or 0.63 percent, to 5,656.1.

WELLINGTON: New Zealand's shares ended mixed, with the key index pushed down by losses in bellwether Telecom Corp. The NZSE-40 capital index fell 3.26 points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,068.85.