Japanese stocks jumped Friday, buoyed by a report that the country's central bank was considering taking further monetary easing steps to shore up a recovery in the world's second-biggest economy, according to AP. The benchmark Nikkei 225 stock index surged 223.24 points, or 2.2 percent, to 10,368.96. For the week, the key index gained 2.4 percent. The broader Topix index gained 1.5 percent to 897.64. «Investors welcomed the report. It means that the Bank of Japan could again take action to support the economy,» said Kazuhiro Takahashi, equity strategist at Daiwa SMBC Securities Co. Ltd. In December, the bank eased monetary policy by offering 10 trillion yen ($112 billion) in short-term loans to commercial banks to boost liquidity. Japan's top business daily Nikkei said Friday the nation's central bank will start discussing further monetary easing measures at its next policy board meeting on March 16-17. «Investors were speculating that further easing could help the yen weaken,» Takahashi said. A softening yen helps Japanese exporters as it boosts the value of their repatriated profits, and makes their goods more competitive by price abroad. Exports are a silver lining for Japan's economy, which emerged last year from its worst recession since World War II but remains threatened by deflation, a strong yen and sluggish domestic demand. Takahashi said Japan's market also rallied on optimism over the U.S. February jobs report, which is due on Friday. The monthly job report is considered to be the most important reading on the U.S. economy because a lasting recovery won't be possible without more jobs being created. Among blue chips, Toyota Motor Corp. rose 0.6 percent to 3,395 yen. Honda Motor Co. increased 1.0 percent to 3,110 yen. Sony Corp. jumped 3.4 percent to 3,205 yen. In currencies, the dollar edged up to 89.37 yen in Tokyo Friday afternoon from 89.13 yen in New York late Thursday. The euro was little changed at $1.3582.
