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Tokyo Stocks Close Sharply Higher

.c The Associated Press


TOKYO (AP) - Tokyo stocks rose sharply Tuesday, as high-tech stocks rallied on strength in their counterparts overnight on Wall Street. The dollar was higher against the Japanese yen.

The benchmark 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average gained 296.15 points, or 2.80 percent, to finish at 10,861.56. On Monday, the index rose 26.62 points, or 0.25 percent.

The dollar bought 122.62 yen at 5 p.m. (4 a.m. EDT), up 1.03 yen from late Monday in Tokyo and above its level of 122.54 later Monday in New York.

On the stock market, technology issues received a boost from gains in the tech-heavy Nasdaq index in the United States.

Sony jumped 3.0 percent to 5,150 yen ($41.87), while Fujitsu rose 3.9 percent to 1,061 yen ($8.63).

The market also benefited from the weaker yen, which helps Japanese exporters by making their products cheaper overseas and boosting the value of repatriated earnings.

The dollar climbed late Monday in New York above the 122 yen mark for the first time in two months.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 172.92, or 1.88 percent, to close at 9,377.03. The Nasdaq composite index gained 36.77, or 2.2 percent, to 1,708.08.

The broader Tokyo Stock Price Index of all issues listed on the first section finished up 22.76 points, or 2.12 percent, to 1,095.74. The TOPIX rose 2.33 points, or 0.22 percent, Monday.

An estimated 733.60 million were traded on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, up from 553.53 million shares on Tuesday. Gainers beat decliners 1,165 to 212, while 103 closed unchanged.

In currencies, the rise in U.S. stocks helped boost the greenback.

The dollar ranged between 122.30 yen and 122.85 yen in Tuesday's trading.

The euro was quoted at 109.22, up from 109.13 yen late Monday in Tokyo.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Japanese government bond slipped to 1.3250 percent from 1.3550 percent late Monday. The price rose to 100.65, up 0.26 point.

On the Net:

Japan's Tokyo Stock Exchange: http://www.tse.or.jp

AP-NY-10-23-01 0728EDT

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