TOKYO, March 31 (Xinhua) -- Japan's benchmark Nikkei stocks index closed higher Friday, on the last day of the country's current fiscal year, as easing concerns over the banking crisis in the U.S. and Europe helped lift the market mood.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average added 258.55 points, or 0.93 percent, from Thursday to close the day at 28,041.48.
The Nikkei jumped 2.8 percent for the week, marking the most since Jan. 27, and leaped 7.46 percent over the quarter, the best result since the end of 2020.
On a points basis through the year to March, the index added 220.05 points.
The broader Topix index, meanwhile, gained 20.18 points, or 1.02 percent, to finish at 2,003.50 on Friday.
Brokers here said that shares deemed oversold amid the banking crisis were bought back as concerns over a Lehman-level global financial meltdown eased after the failed U.S. and European banks either have or will be acquired by other banks.
They added that while concerns had abated for now about the global financial system potentially collapsing, some concerns remained about banks' deposit runs, market strategists here said.
"Worries about the health of the financial system have, for now at least, receded, although clearly there are still worries about what will happen with deposits," Kazuo Kamitani, a strategist at Nomura Securities, was quoted as saying.
Other analysts here broadly concurred intimating that perhaps the worst of the banking crisis was over and the financial system would remain stable, at least for the short term.
"For the time being, the financial system anxiety has subsided as we have not heard any more news about banks in crisis," Masahiro Yamaguchi, head of investment research at SMBC Trust Bank, was quoted as saying.
The market mood was also supported by government data here showing that the country's industrial output had significantly improved from a month earlier, climbing 4.5 percent in February.
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's preliminary data for February came on the heels of a downwardly revised 5.3 percent decrease in factory output logged in January.
The ministry said that industries mainly contributing to an output increase in the recording period comprised motor vehicles, production machinery, electronic parts and devices, in that order.
Automobiles advancing on hopes factory output here will continue to increase, based on the ministry's survey conducted on Japanese manufacturers, revealing that it expects output to expand 2.3 percent in March and increase 4.4 percent in April.
These included Mazda Motor accelerating 3.0 percent, while Toyota Motor was driven into positive territory, parking 2.1 percent higher by the close.
High technology issues also found favor, owing to their U.S. peers' overnight gains, with Nikkei heavyweight SoftBank Group ending 1.9 percent higher, while Sony Group added 2.1 percent.
The Nikkei's biggest winner, however, was trading firm Mitsui & Co. who surged 7.6 percent following reports the trading firm may raise its total return ratio.
By the close of play, iron and steel, wholesale trade and precision instrument-linked issues comprised those that gained the most on the Prime Market.
The turnover on the final trading day of the week came to 3,742.24 billion yen (28.07 billion U.S. dollars). ■