Tokyo shares end sharply higher on China's firm manufacturing data

Tokyo shares surged sharply on Thursday as market sentiment here was boost by a better-than- expected China's manufacturing data.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average skyrocketed 334.27 points, or 1.92 percent, from Wednesday at 17,722.42.

The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange jumped 31.58 points, or 2.24 percent, higher to 1,442.74.

Gainers were led by real estate, financing business and precision instruments.

The turnover was about 2,648.6 billion yen (about 22.04 billion U.S. dollars). Endi