TOKYO: Japan’s Nikkei share average increased 3.98% on Monday, registering the biggest daily rise in more than a year on back of upbeat US data.
The Nikkei share average rose 578.72 points to 15,108.72 in mid-morning trade to recover most of the losses posted last week.
Upbeat US consumer sentiment gave relief to investor sentiment and lifted risk appetite. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan index of consumer sentiment unexpectedly rose in early October to its highest level since July 2007. Separate data showed groundbreaking for new homes rose more than expected last month.
Traders said investors are scooping up recently battered stocks after the Nikkei tumbled 5 percent last week hit by concerns about global growth and the stronger yen.
Toyota jumped 5.2 percent, Honda soared 3.2 percent and Panasonic Corp surged 5.0 percent after the dollar rose 0.2 percent at 107.18 yen, putting further distance between a five-week low of 105.90 hit the previous week.
NEC Corp rose 5.3 percent after the Nikkei business daily reported that its operating profit for the April-September period was likely to be about 20 billion yen, compared to just shy of 400 million yen in the previous year.
The broader Topix jumped 3.6 percent to 1,219.12, and the new JPX-Nikkei Index 400 gained 3.6 percent to 11,095.52.
