Tokyo stocks end up 2% Tuesday

Tokyo stocks ended higher Tuesday, up for the third straight session, as an overnight surge on Wall street carried over in the Tokyo market, helping the Nikkei Stock Average to close above 8,700 for the first time since Sept. 30. The benchmark index finished at 8,773.68, up 168.06, just shy of a 2% gain. U.S. stocks climbed after German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy announced Sunday they will take steps to recapitalize euro zone financial institutions to avoid a financial crisis. Tokyo''s benchmark average was also supported by the euro''s rise to the mid-104 yen range, encouraging broad buying of automobile, machinery and bank issues, among others. With few new incentives on the domestic front, however, the index hit a ceiling after briefly topping 8,800 in the morning. Trading value on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange totalled 1.102 trillion yen on a preliminary basis.