Stock markets across Europe and in the United States surged after the Bank of Japan ramped up its efforts to head off economic slowdown.
Frankfurt, Paris, Madrid and Milan all gained more than 3 per cent, tracking still more impressive gains in Tokyo, while the Dow Jones industrial average climbed by 181.35 points, or 1.1 per cent, to 17,376.77 by lunchtime.
In London, the FTSE 100 rose 82.92 points to 6,546.47 as the move by Japan’s central bank helped to soothe concerns about the end of the US Federal Reserve’s quantitative easing programme this week and the European Central Bank’s reluctance, thus far, to embark on one.
The Tokyo stock market rose to its highest level in seven years and the yen fell further after