Japanese stocks jump 1 % on eased concerns over eurozone

Japanese shares rose 1 per cent Thursday after the International Monetary Fund said overnight it hopes to raise its lending capacity by 500 billion dollars, as it works to combat the eurozone debt crisis. The benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average gained 89.1 points, or 1.04 per cent, to end at 8,639.68 while the broader Topix index was up 5.7points, or 0.78 per cent, at 740.68. Technology shares such as Advantest Corp and Elpida Memory Inc gota boost after the Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 1.53 per cent overnight. Advantest surged 6.96 per cent and Elpida Memory soared 5.25 per cent. On currency markets at 3 pm (0600 GMT), the dollar traded at76.75-76 yen, little changed from Wednesday's 5 pm quote of 76.71-72yen. The eur was quoted at 98.64-66 yen, up from 98.15-19 yen late Wednesday, and at 1.2851-2854 dollars, up from 1.2795-2796 dollars.