Japanese stocks jumped nearly 2 per cent Thursday after six major central banks agreed in a coordinated move to shore up global market liquidity and China's central bank decided to take a step to spur lending to banks, dpa reported. The benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average gained 1.93 per cent, or 162.77 points, to close at 8,597.38 while the broader Topix index was up 1.59 per cent, or 11.55 points, to 740.01. Export-oriented issues such as construction machinery maker Komatsu Ltd, Sony Corp and Toyota Motor Corp rose sharply. Komatsu soared 7.23 per cent, Sony rose 2.7 per cent and Toyota jumped 2.31 per cent. The banks, including the European Central Bank and the US Federal Reserve, acted to cut the cost of money around the world in a bid to keep the eurozone debt crisis from triggering a new credit crunch. China's central bank surprised financial markets by cutting reserve requirements for commercial lenders, halting a year-long drive for tighter monetary policy in the country. On currency markets, the dollar traded at 77.69-70 yen at 3 pm (0600 GMT), down from 78.00-01 yen late Wednesday. The euro was quoted at 104.55-57 yen, up from 103.50-53 yen Wednesday, and at 1.3458-3460 dollars, up from 1.3270-3272 dollars.
