Nikkei jumps after month-long slide

Improving factory data and a sliding yen helped lift Japanese shares overnight, amid a positive session for Asian markets in general.

Positive factory data from China - where the latest PMI reading provided some relief to investors - helped stabilise the region following heavy selling in recent days, while declines in the yen versus the dollar provided a further Japan-specific boost. As a result, the Nikkei climbed sharply, closing up 2.2% at 13,660 points. The move higher halted a steep decline over the last month, the index having fallen around 7% from 14,700 just a month ago. Japan's TOPIX, the Hong Kong Hang Seng, and a range of other Asian indices also climbed following the positive news from China, the region'...