TOKYO: Tokyo shares have soared more than 3.0 per cent, extending gains from a day earlier after strong US data sent Wall Street flying and fueled a global rally that saw a surge in Chinese equities.
The Nikkei-225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange ended up 3.03 per cent, or 561.88 points, at 19,136.32.
The broader Topix index of all first section shares jumped 3.29 per cent, or 49.39 points, to 1,549.80.
Tokyo’s rise came as the Dow Jones Industrial Average soared after the Commerce Department reported that US gross domestic product (GDP) grew at an annual rate of 3.7 per cent in the second quarter, much higher than the 2.3 per cent initially estimated.
“Amid concerns over the outlook of the global economy, the sound US GDP growth is supporting the market,” Nobuyuki Fujimoto, senior market analyst at SBI Securities, told Bloomberg News.
Tokyo’s gains accelerated on Friday afternoon as “some investors tried to push the upside a bit further”, said Toshihiko Matsuno, research head at SMBC Friend Securities.
Shanghai stocks also rose on Friday, extending gains after China cut interest rates earlier in the week and amid rises in global markets after days of turmoil.
Global oil prices surged more than 10 per cent Thursday after the strong US figures lifted confidence about the world’s biggest economy and petroleum user.
US benchmark West Texas Intermediate jumped $US3.96 to $US42.56 a barrel.
Investors appeared to shrug off weak Japanese economic data earlier Friday.
