| The Japanese benchmark Nikkei 225 jumped 477 points or 0.89 percent to close trading at 54,295.00 as investors focused on this weekend's national election. The day's trading ranged between 52,959 and 54,329 amidst hawkish comments from Bank of Japan's Masu.
Ajinomoto Co jumped 13 percent followed by Mitsubishi Motors Corp that rallied close to 10 percent. Kikkoman Corp lost 7.5 percent followed by Konica Minolta that saw prices decrease more than 6 percent. |