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"Even when there's more bad news from Europe, there's a feeling that prices have hit bottom"
- Toshio Sumitani, a strategist at Tokai Tokyo Research Center
Japanese stocks rose on Wednesday amid hopes European top officials will step up efforts to combat the debt crisis at a summit in Brussels. The Nikkei 225 rose 1.71%, or 147.01 points, to 8,722.17, while the broader Topix gained 1.57%, or 11.62, to 749.63.
"Even when there's more bad news from Europe, there's a feeling that prices have hit bottom," said Toshio Sumitani, a strategist at Tokai Tokyo Research Center. "There's more confidence in Europe's efforts to solve its problems and investors are also starting to focus on the U.S.'s unexpected strength."
"There is an expectation in the market that Europe will advance measures to overcome the debt issues," said Hiroichi Nishi, an equities manager in Tokyo at SMBC Nikko Securities Inc.
"While there's a sense of expectation in the market, investors still want to see the results of meetings this week of the European Union and European Central Bank."