Around the World's Markets: Tokyo

CHEAPER MONEY and a weaker yen helped Tokyo stocks to their biggest one-day gain this year. The Nikkei 225 index closed up 710.55 points, or 5.01 per cent at 14,894.

Hiroshi Ichio, strategist at Commerz Securities, said: "The market benefited from a monetary easing. As a result, the yen declined and it sparked expectations that the Japanese economy will not collapse further."

Market sentiment was also cheered by news that Sony and Toshiba plan to co-operate on chips for Sony's PlayStation machine.