Tokyo stocks rebound sharply

Tokyo stocks sharply rebounded on Monday, driving a key index up more than 200 points, as sentiment was lifted by news that the eurozone leaders agreed on a bailout plan for Cyprus. The benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) jumped 207.93 points, or 1.69 percent, from Friday to 12,546.46. The index briefly gained by more than 250 points in the afternoon, after the European Union and Cyprus reached a preliminary agreement on the EUR 10 billion bailout plan for the Mediterranean island country, which sent the yen lower against the euro. The broader Tokyo Stock Price Index, which includes all shares on the market's First Section on the TSE, was also up 8.72 points, or 0.84 percent, to 1,047.29, with 30 of 33 sub-indices ending in positive territory. Continued expectations for further monetary easing measures by the central bank under its new leadership also encouraged investors. Last week, Bank of Japan's new Governor Haruhiko Kuroda vowed to take all means available in easing monetary policy to end deflation and boost the world's third-largest economy. In the currency markets, at 4:40 p.m. (0740 GMT), the dollar fetched JPY 94. 68-70 against JPY 94.50-60 in New York and JPY 94.58-59 in Tokyo at 5 p.m. Friday.