Nikkei rises on eased Italy debt woes

Nikkei rose Monday as concerns over debt problems in Italy eased after a fiscal austerity bill was passed by the Italian Parliament last week. The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average ended up 89.23 points, or 1. 05 percent, from Friday at 8,603.70. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange finished up 6. 72 points, or 0.92 percent higher, at 735.85. Gainers included the securities, the iron and steel, and the consumer finance sectors. The land transport, the services and the information and communications sectors were the sole decliners. The turnover was about 422.5 billion yen (about 5.48 billion U. S. dollars).