Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index soars more than 10% after plunging a day earlier

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 share index soared as much as 10.7% early Tuesday, a day after it plunged the most in 37 years.

The index gave up some of those gains as it wavered throughout the day but closed 10.2% higher at 34,675.46. Other Asian markets also were higher after sharp losses on Wall Street that were dramatic but not on the same scale as Monday’s 12.4% nosedive in Tokyo.

Many shares rose by double-digit percentages similar to their losses a day before, with automaker Toyota Motor Corp. rocketed 12.8%.

Computer chip maker Tokyo Electron jumped 16.6%, Honda Motor Co. advanced 14.7% and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group was up 5.8%.

The losses of the past several sessions followed a move by the Bank of Japan last week to raise its main interest rate from nearly zero. Such a move helps boost the value of the Japanese yen, but it also led traders to scramble out of deals where they had borrowed money for virtually no cost in Japan and invested it elsewhere around the world.

Officials from Japan’s Finance Ministry, Financial Service Agency and the Bank of Japan met Tuesday to address the recent market gyrations.

Atsushi Mimura, a top ministry bureaucrat, declined to comment directly on the specifics of the market, as is government policy. But he noted that market experts were saying recent volatility reflects various global developments, and markets are going up and down elsewhere as well.

He cited geopolitical risks like rising tensions in the Middle East and recent economic data. He also pointed to increases in wages and investment in Japan.

“We maintain the view that the Japanese economy is gradually recovering, going forward,” he told reporters.

The government officials and the central bank reconfirmed their agreement to watch internal and external fiscal situation, and work together “as one,” said Mimura, vice finance minister for international affairs.

When asked, Mimura declined to comment on whether the recent BOJ rate hike had triggered the market’s movements. He said the government was closely watching the foreign exchange rates and aiming for stability as always.

Various factors combined to cause Monday’s carnage, according to Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management, likening Tuesday’s bounce to a “lifeboat.”

“As always with the market, take this to heart: Yesterday’s misery often turns into today’s punchline. The swift twists and turns of trading can transform what seemed like a dire situation into a fleeting memory, one that’s often laughed about in trading rooms the next day,” he said.

The Nikkei is now up 7.7% from a year ago, but more than 9% below its level three months ago. Its biggest ever percentage gain was 14.2% in October 2008.

The Associated Press