OVERSEAS : Tokyo Stocks Change Course, Rise Sharply

The key Nikkei Stock Average staged a sharp comeback this morning after opening considerably lower, while the dollar fell slightly against the yen.

The average of 225 selected issues traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange was up 470.98 points, or 1.41% at 33,833.32 at the end of the morning session, after nose-diving 390 points just after the opening. The average had shed 428.74 points Wednesday.

The U.S. dollar started trading today at 150.25 yen, down 0.50 yen from Wednesday’s close of 150.75.

Norio Takeda, a dealer with the Bank of Tokyo, said the dollar’s upward momentum “was checked following intervention by the Bank of Japan in the Sydney market,” which opened earlier than Tokyo.

“But it is too early to say that the dollar has started taking a downward course,” Takeda said.

The extent of central bank intervention in the Sydney market was not immediately known. The bank in recent weeks reportedly has sold billions of dollars in both Japanese and overseas markets to stem the yen’s decline.

Before the big turnaround in the Nikkei, traders had said that the index started falling because many investors are concerned about higher interest rates ahead. Also, today is the last day for trading index futures due in March, and computer program selling in early session contributed to the decline, they said.

The yield on benchmark 10-year Japanese government bonds, which have been affecting the stock market in recent weeks, held steady at the opening of trading at 7.20%.