Around the World's Markets: Tokyo

THE NIKKEI 225 index closed up 1.82 per cent at 17,918.97 amid bargain hunting and investors looking for stocks to be included in the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) standard index from 1 September.

"The Nikkei 225 had shed more than half the gains it added in its previous rally, so it was a good time for investors to hunt for bargains," said Hiroichi Nishi at Nikko Securities.