Japan stocks rise 1.2 % on overseas gains

Japanese shares jumped 1.2 per cent Tuesday as overnight gains on Wall Street and European markets improved investor sentiment. The benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average gained 104.88 points, or 1.22 per cent, to close at 8,733.01 after ending Monday near this year's low of 8,605.15, seen on March 15, four days after Japan's earthquake and tsunami struck. The broader-based Topix index was up 7.55 points, or 1.02 per cent, at 750.39. Both the Nikkei and the Topix advanced further in the afternoon as other Asian markets also rose. By mid-afternoon, South Korea's Kospi Index had surged 3.99 per cent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index had jumped 0.84 per cent and China's Shanghai Composite Index had climbed 0.71 per cent, according to a report of the German Press Agency "DPA".