Tokyo: Nikkei posts biggest gain in 2-1/2 months ahead of Fed rate call

[TOKYO] Japanese stocks posted the biggest daily per centage gain in 2-1/2 months on Wednesday, with sentiment helped by broad gains on Wall Street before an expected rise in US interest rates later in the day.

The Nikkei share average ended 2.6 per cent higher at 19,049.91.

The gains came as top US Federal Reserve officials began a two-day policy meeting expected to end with the first US interest rate increase since 2006.

The broader Topix climbed 2.5 per cent to 1,540.72 with all but one of its 33 sub-indexes in positive territory.

The JPX-Nikkei Index 400 rose 2.7 per cent to 13,879.68.

REUTERS