Tokyo shares closed more than two percent higher Thursday, rebounding from losses the previous day to extend a global rally fuelled by a surge in oil prices. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange jumped 2.28 percent, or 360.44 points, to finish at 16,196.80. The broader Topix index of all first-section shares gained 2.25 percent, or 28.80 points, to 1,311.20.
"The storm is blowing over and markets are stabilising," Mitsushige Akino, executive officer at Ichiyoshi Asset Management, told Bloomberg News. "Declines in oil had been weighing on risk sentiment, so it's a positive sign that prices are rebounding." Energy firms led gains after crude rallied on the back of comments from Iran's oil minister praising an output freeze by Saudi Arabia and Russia.
While he stopped short of committing Iran to any production curbs, his comments were taken as a step in the right direction. On Wednesday, US benchmark West Texas Intermediate soared more than seven percent while Brent added 5.6 percent. Oil extended its gains in Asian trade. Japanese energy explorer Inpex closed up 6.08 percent at 952 yen while JX Holdings jumped 6.32 percent to 462 yen. Traders appeared to shrug off figures earlier Thursday that showed Japan fell back into a trade deficit in January as exports to China plunged.
The data came after Japan's economy shrank in the last quarter of 2015, renewing doubts about Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's bid to boost growth. Among other firms Toyota rose 1.71 percent to 6,180 yen, while Sony surged 3.54 percent to 2,569 yen. Videogame giant Nintendo jumped 5.95 percent to 16,540 yen, and bank Mitsubishi UFJ added 2.86 percent to close at 503 yen.
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