TOKYO - Tokyo stocks surged Thursday, with the Nikkei stock index ending up over 3 percent, as hopes for a settlement in the Middle East conflict eased crude oil prices.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average ended up 1,879.73 points, or 3.14 percent, from Wednesday at 61,684.14, snapping a five-day losing streak. The broader Topix index finished 62.16 points, or 1.64 percent, higher at 3,853.81.
On the top-tier Prime Market, the main gainers were information and communication, electric appliance and glass and ceramics product issues.
The U.S. dollar moved mostly in the upper 158 yen range in Tokyo, as the flight-to-safety mood in the Middle East situation eased.
At 5 p.m., the dollar fetched 159.02-04 yen compared with 158.87-97 yen in New York and 159.06-08 yen in Tokyo at 5 p.m. Wednesday.
The euro was quoted at $1.1607-1608 and 184.58-62 yen against $1.1620-1630 and 184.70-80 yen in New York and $1.1592-1594 and 184.39-43 yen in Tokyo late Wednesday afternoon.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Japanese government bond ended down 0.025 percentage point from Wednesday's close at 2.760 percent.
Inflation concerns eased after the benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures fell below $100 per barrel following U.S. President Donald Trump's remarks that a deal with Iran was in "the final stages," prompting buying of stocks and lowering the key Japanese government bond yield.
SoftBank Group led gains after a report that OpenAI, in which the group invests, is preparing to file for an initial public offering.
Robust earnings from Nvidia Corp. also supported sentiment, but investors remained cautious ahead of Wall Street's reactions to the earnings report.
"As Tokyo stocks had appeared oversold, technical rebound led to the market's sharp rise," said Toshikazu Horiuchi, equity strategist at IwaiCosmo Securities Co.
