Nikkei up 2 per cent on bargain-hunting

Tokyo's Nikkei average jumped 2 per cent in early afternoon today as investors sifted for blue-chip bargains in a market battered to almost two-decade lows .

The Nikkei average was up 196.85 points or 2.17 per cent at 9,271.94, recovering from seven straight sessions of decline and 19-year lows a day earlier.

The broader, capital-weighted TOPIX index rose 2.28 per cent to 906.61.

Consumer electronics giant Sony gained 3.3 per cent to 5,010 yen after hitting a 10-month low in the previous session, and major banks shone after falling steeply earlier this week.

Mizuho Holdings Inc, the world's largest bank by assets, soared 5.63 per cent to 225,000 yen after falling 15 per cent in the previous two sessions.