TOKYO: Tokyo stocks closed up 2.30 percent higher Tuesday on hopes that eurozone leaders meeting later in the day can hammer out a deal to tackle the bloc's sovereign debt crisis.
The Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange added 190.33 points to 8,477.82. The Topix index of all first-section issues rose 1.95 percent, or 13.98 points, to 729.68.
"Expectations emerged for a clearer plan to resolve the European sovereign debt crisis when Japanese stocks were relatively undervalued," said Hiroichi Nishi, general manager of the equity division at SMBC Nikko Securities.
Tuesday's rise came after an overnight advance on Wall Street with the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining 2.59 percent amid high hopes for a Europe debt plan and data showing sales over the US Thanksgiving holiday weekend were up 16 percent from last year at a record $52.4 billion.
That marked the biggest dollar amount ever spent over the so-called Black Friday period, the unofficial start of the Christmas shopping season.
"The recent positive news out of the eurozone and a solid start to the US holiday shopping season sent US stocks sharply higher," said Kazuhiro Takahashi, general manager of investment strategy & research at Daiwa Securities.
Optimism over a European debt pact came even as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development warned that the fiscal crisis could plunge advanced economies into deep recession and even depression.
US President Barack Obama told top European officials Monday to take decisive action on the region's fiscal woes, while ratings agency Moody's warned that all European states were at risk of seeing their credit ratings cut.
A swift improvement to the crisis was unlikely, despite speculation European leaders meeting in Brussels Tuesday will reach a workable deal to contain the problem, said Kenichi Hirano, operating officer at Tachibana Securities.
"The situation has to be watched closely for an extended period. The outlook, however, changes slightly day by day," Hirano told Dow Jones Newswires.
In Tokyo, exporters rose with the yen weakening against the dollar and euro. Electronic parts maker TDK rose 3.05 percent to 3,885 yen, and Honda Motor jumped 3.54 percent to 2,395 yen.
Toyota Motor rose 1.85 percent to 2,529 yen. Sony added 2.12 percent to 1,392 yen.
The dollar firmed to 78.03 yen in Tokyo afternoon trade from 77.97 yen in New York late Monday and the euro to 104.28 yen from 103.83 yen.
The single unit stood at $1.3367, up from $1.3318 in New York late Monday.
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