Nikkei surges, SoftBank jumps on Alibaba earnings

Japan's Nikkei share average surged on Wednesday after a better performance on Wall Street the day before and comments from Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso that the market took to suggest more stock buying by the government's pension fund.

Index heavyweight SoftBank soared after a strong earnings report from its Chinese e-commerce affiliate Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.

The Nikkei share average rose 3% to 14,417.68, extending its rebound from a six-month low around 13,885 hit earlier this month. The benchmark suffered its worst weekly performance in three years last week.

The broader Topix rose 2.7% to 1,166.55, and the new JPX-Nikkei Index 400 advanced 2.6% to 10,611.76.