Japanese share prices jumped 5.9% to a six-month high this morning, powered by gains on Wall Street at the end of last week and fresh hopes for restructuring in the domestic economy, dealers said.
The Nikkei-225 index of the Tokyo Stock Exchange rallied 638.22 points to finish at 11,450.22,the highest level since the key index ended at 11,515.02 on August 16.
'There are some signs of improvement in Japan due to a better-than-expected rebound in the US,' Japanese economists said.
In New York on Friday, the Dow Jones industrials surged 2.6% to 10,368.86 - its highest level since August - while the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite broke out of its malaise with a jump of 4.1% to 1,802.75.
Economists said the market believed there will be further government measures to combat deflation, despite disappointment following the government's anti-deflation package announced last week.
The Minister for Economic and Fiscal Policy Heizo Takenaka said yesterday that Tokyo would push ahead with structural reforms and would announce further restructuring plans in the middle of the month.
Economists predict that the Nikkei 225 stock index could rise towards 12,000 points before the end of March.
