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 TOKYO (AP) - Japanese stocks surged Monday after a landslide victory by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's ruling party spurred expectations he would follow through on market-friendly economic reforms. The yen also gained against the dollar.
The Nikkei 225 index rose 134.56 points, or 1.1 percent, to end the morning session at 12,826.60 on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The index rose 1.26 percent Friday.
Koizumi's Liberal Democratic Party scored a political triumph Sunday, winning 296 seats in Japan's powerful lower house of parliament, public broadcaster NHK reported, far above the 249 seats it held when Koizumi dissolved the chamber last month. It was also more than the 241 seats needed for a majority.
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