Tokyo stocks surge on U.S.-Iran agreement hopes

TOKYO - Tokyo stocks rose sharply on Friday, with the Nikkei stock index surging over 4 percent at one stage, driven by optimism about the prospects of the United States and Iran signing a peace deal to end the Middle East conflict.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average ended up 1,802.77 points, or 2.81 percent, from Thursday at 66,020.04. The broader Topix index finished 51.61 points, or 1.35 percent, higher at 3,881.96.