Nikkei Ends At 4.5-Yr High After Dow Hits Record High

TOKYO (NQN)--Tokyo stocks rose sharply Wednesday, buoyed by overnight gains on Wall Street, with the Nikkei Stock Average soaring 248.82 points, or 2.13%, to end the day at 11,932.27.

The benchmark index rose to its highest close since Sept. 25, 2008, when it hit 12,006.

The Dow Jones industrial average hit an all-time high overnight, rising to levels not seen since the global financial collapse five and half years ago. That prompted investors to take more risk and buy a broad range of issues. In the afternoon, speculative buying of stock index futures ahead of Friday's special quotation calculation for March contract for stock index futures and options pushed the Nikkei average still higher.

The trading value on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange totaled about 2.01 trillion yen on a preliminary basis.

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