Around the World's Markets: Tokyo

A STRONG showing by Wall Street overnight on Monday pushed Tokyo stocks sharply higher yesterday. The Nikkei 225 index finished up 243.98 points, or 1.71 per cent, at 14,500.65.

Persistent weakness in the yen, which was trading at 120.5 to the dollar in Tokyo, helped to ease the pressure on Japanese exporters.

Kiyoshi Kimura, strategist at Societe Generale Securities, said: "With the dollar trading at above 120 yen, it would not be surprising to see a rise in the Nikkei to 15,000."