Japan's Nikkei average hit a
fresh seven-month closing high on Tuesday as investors
reassessed the impact of Elpida Memory Inc's bankruptcy
protection filing on the chip sector and bought back some of the
stocks they sold earlier in the day.
A softer yen, month-end buying and the launch of several new
investment trust funds, which is set for Wednesday, also helped
reverse earlier losses on the Nikkei, a dealer said.
Buoyed by a run of strong U.S. economic data, the European
Central Bank's nearly half a trillion euro liquidity injection,
and further easing steps by the Bank of Japan and the Bank of
England, the Nikkei is up 10.5 percent this month, on track for
its best February performance since 1991.
The benchmark Nikkei closed 0.9 percent higher at 9,722.52
after trading as low as 9,528.77 in the morning session. (Reuters)
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