Akhir 26, 1432, March 31, 2011, SPA-- Japanese stocks climbed Thursday on hopes of economic recovery in the United States as its upcoming employment data was expected to be positive, as dpa reported. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average gained 46.31 points, or 0.48 per cent, to close at 9,755.1 while the broader Topix index was up 3.29 points, or 0.38 per cent, at 869.38. For the month, the Nikkei fell 8.18 per cent while the Topix dropped 8.61 per cent. The country was recovering from a magnitude-9 earthquake and tsunami which hit its north-eastern coast on March 11, affecting many manufacturers. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.58 per cent. Traders expected the US jobless rate to fall further when monthly figures are released Friday. The United States is a major market for export-reliant Japan. But investors in Japan were concerned about the slow progress at a stricken nuclear power plant in Fukushima, whose cooling systems were knocked out by the quake and tsunami. Radiation has hindered work to restore reactor cooling functions at the six-reactor Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, 250 kilometres north-east of Tokyo. Partial meltdowns, fires and explosions have already occurred at some of the overheating reactors. On currency markets at 3 pm (0600 GMT), the dollar traded at 82.75-78 yen, down from Wednesday's 5 pm quote of 83.00-02 yen. The euro traded at 1.4149-4154 dollars, up from 1.4078-4080 dollars Wednesday, and at 117.10-15 yen, up from 116.85-89 yen.
