TOKYO: Japanese shares rose 1.75 percent Tuesday morning after Wall Street rallied on expectations that the United States will maintain its easy monetary policy to boost its plodding economy.
The Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange climbed 175.19 points to end the morning at 10,193.43, at one point topping 10,200 for the first time since July.
The Topix of all first-section shares also added 1.75 percent, or 14.94 points, to 866.76.
"Market sentiment has temporarily rebounded" after Fed chairman Ben Bernanke discussed Monday the need to maintain accommodative policies, said Fumiyuki Nakanishi, general manager of investment and research at SMBC Friend Securities.
Bernanke said the central bank would likely keep stimulative policies in place despite improvements to the jobs market.
The comments helped the Dow Jones Industrial Average to close up 1.23 percent at 13,241.63.
The Fed has held interest rates at record lows since the global financial crisis, with talk that recent falls in unemployment could lead the bank to start tightening policy as early as the second half of this year.
The strong performance on Wall Street and a better-than-expected German business confidence index for March also lifted the Nikkei, said Rakuten Securities senior market analyst Masayuki Doshida.
"Bernanke's comments signal that fundamental conditions of the US economy haven't been so strong, which means this year's share rallies have been the result of easing stimulus," Doshida told Dow Jones Newswires.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel's suggestion that Berlin may be open to lifting the eurozone's bailout capacity for debt-ridden bloc nations also encouraged investors, SMBC's Nakanishi said.
Window-dressing ahead of the fiscal year-end this week spurred buying across a broad range of shares, Nakanishi added.
The euro bought $1.3353 and 110.62 yen in Asian trade Tuesday, compared with $1.3356 and 110.68 yen in New York late Monday. The dollar was at 82.84 yen from 82.87 yen.