Nikkei surges 3.24% on weaker yen, exporters advance (2)

"Today's gains are strong, better than I expected, but I think this alone isn't enough to really give investors confidence that the market has hit bottom for now," said Toshiyuki Kanayama, market analyst at Monex Inc.

"Still, Wall Street responded positively to good U.S. housing data, which may be a sign that attention is shifting away from Europe after a long period in which indicators were ignored in favour of euro zone issues. We'll know better after we see the response to tomorrow's jobs data."

"The U.S housing data as well as auto sales figures proved the economy is recovering," said another Tokyo-based analyst, adding " the improvement in housing sales and spending generate confidence in the economy."

Brokers said the outgoing Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's hasty exit from the top post on Wednesday was not overly unsettling for the market although market players are keenly awaiting confirmation of the nation's next leader -- believed by many to be Finance Minister Naoto Kan who is know to be fiscally conservative and vocal believer in a weaker yen.


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