Passage: The Nikkei stock average gained 307.83 points, or 1.6 percent, from Monday in the first one hour to stand at 18,978.20 at 10 a.m. (0100 GMT). "The upsurge in New York encouraged market participants here," Harushige Kobayashi of Yamaichi Securities Co. Ltd. said, adding the Tokyo market would probably hold firm for the day.
encouraged