Tokyo Stocks End Thursday Up

(MENAFN) Tokyo stocks staged a dramatic comeback Thursday, with the benchmark Nikkei index surging more than 3 percent to snap a punishing five-session losing streak, as tumbling oil prices lifted investor sentiment across the board.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average closed up 1,879.73 points, or 3.14 percent, at 61,684.14 — its strongest single-day gain in weeks. The broader Topix index also advanced, climbing 62.16 points, or 1.64 percent, to settle at 3,853.81.

The rally was fuelled largely by a sharp pullback in crude prices, after US President Donald Trump declared that a deal with Iran was in "the final stages" — remarks that immediately cooled fears of a prolonged Middle East conflict and the inflationary spiral that comes with it. Benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude futures slid below the psychologically critical $100-per-barrel threshold in response, prompting a broad wave of stock buying, analysts said.

The combination of easing geopolitical risk and lower energy costs proved a powerful catalyst for markets that had endured five consecutive sessions of losses, with investors swiftly repricing equities upward as the inflation outlook appeared, at least momentarily, less dire.

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