TOKYO - JAPAN'S Nikkei stock index rose more than five per cent in early trade on Friday after a powerful rally on Wall Street.

The benchmark index shot up 440.31 points, or 5.34 per cent, to 8,678.95 in the first 20 minutes of trading.

The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 6.67 per cent on Thursday as investors looked for bargains after a punishing three-day market sell-off and brushed aside more bleak economic and corporate news. -- AFP