Around the World's Markets: Tokyo

THE BENCHMARK Nikkei 225 average closed up 1.22 per cent, boosted by a stream of positive corporate news, but profit taking ensured that it failed to sustain an early rise above 17,000, closing at 16,947.36.

Traders said that the stock market had risen instinctively in the morning in reaction to the report of a business tie-up between Nintendo and Matsushita Electric Industrial, and news of new products coming from Sony, Takeda Chemical Industries and Taisho Pharmaceuticals.