Japan's Nikkei surges over 4 pct in early trading

Alsharq Tribune-Otaify 

Tokyo stocks opened higher on Friday, with the benchmark Nikkei stock index jumping more than 4 percent in early trading, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street amid rekindled hopes for a settlement of the conflict in the Middle East.

At 9:21 a.m., the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average rose 2,587.61 points, or 4.03 percent, from Thursday to 66,804.88. The broader Topix index was up 80.79 points, or 2.11 percent, at 3,911.14.